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India close to semi-finals with a thrilling five-run win over Bangladesh

Back in form, KL Rahul’s accurate throw, Virat Kohli’s unbeaten half-century and rain helped India beat Bangladesh by five runs with the Duckworth-Lewis method to enter the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. . In reply to the target of 185 runs to win, Bangladesh made 66 runs for no loss in seven overs from a brilliant start. Liton Das looked to take the team towards victory after scoring 60 runs in 27 balls but the game had to be stopped due to rain.

When the game resumed, Bangladesh got a revised target of 151 runs in 16 overs but on the very second ball of the eighth over, Rahul dismissed Das on a precise throw from deep midwicket which also proved to be the turning point of the match. Bangladesh team could score only 145 runs for six wickets. Earlier, India had scored 184 for six on the basis of ‘Player of the Match’ Kohli’s unbeaten 64 off 44 balls and Rahul’s fifty. India now have six points from four matches and will have to beat Zimbabwe in their last match on Sunday to reach the last four.

On the very first ball of the tenth over, Mohammed Shami got Najmul Hussain Shanto (21 off 25 balls) caught by Suryakumar Yadav on the longon. Captain Shakib Al Hasan tried to ease the pressure in the next over by hitting R Ashwin for two fours but Arshdeep Singh made a comeback impossible for Bangladesh in the 12th over with a double blow. On the first ball, Arshdeep sent Afif Hossain to the pavilion when Surya took another spectacular catch.

On the fifth ball, Shakib was caught by Deepak Hooda at deep midwicket, he gave the biggest blow to Bangladesh. Arshdeep also bowled with restraint in the last over when Bangladesh needed 20 runs in six balls. Apart from sixes on the second ball and fours on the fifth ball, Bangladeshi batsmen could not open their hands on the remaining four balls and India got another thrilling win. Earlier, Kohli added an unbeaten 64 off 44 balls with the help of eight fours and a six for India.

No bowler from Bangladesh had any answer for his brilliant strokes. The pitch here was slower than Perth, on which Bangladesh bowlers came under pressure after the powerplay. Rahul returned to form after scoring 50 off 31 balls. Kohli shared 67 runs with Rahul for the second wicket and 38 runs with Suryakumar Yadav for the third wicket. Yadav, who was ranked number one in the ICC T20 Batsmen’s Rankings, scored 30 runs in 15 balls.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma got life in the very first over off the delivery of Taskin Ahmed but he could not take advantage of it and was dismissed after scoring two runs in seven balls. Shakib took the wickets of Rahul and Surya for 33 runs in four overs but remained Bangladesh’s best bowler Taskin. Left-arm pacers Shariful Islam and Hasan Mahmood proved expensive, conceding 57 and 47 runs respectively. Islam did not get any wicket while Mahmood took three wickets.

Rahul, who has been criticized for his poor form in the last three matches, batted well. He played 20 balls to score the first 21 but opened his hands after the powerplay and hit two brilliant sixes. 24 runs were scored in Shariful’s ninth over and the Indian batsmen dominated. Rahul’s next 29 runs came in ten balls. He was dismissed for 50 off 31 balls and Mustafizur Rahman caught him off Shakib’s delivery.

67 runs in 35 balls in the second wicket partnership. At the other end, Kohli hit two to Taskeen and a four to Mustafizur. Surya played a short but aggressive innings but lost a wicket off Shakib’s delivery. At the other end, Hardik Pandya (five), Dinesh Karthik (seven) and Axar Patel (seven) could not provide any support. Ravichandran Ashwin made 13 not out in six balls.

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