India maintained their win streak today at Pune by beating Bangladesh with a margin of 7 wickets. Bangladesh’s unsteady middle-order batting remains an unsolved issue.
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Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. A surprisingly good opening performance by Liton and Tanzid laid the groundwork for the middle-order batters to work on. However, in a typical Bangladeshi fashion, the middle-order inexplicably faltered on the very day when the top-order had excelled. Senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah salvaged what they could, carrying Bangladesh to a respectable score of 256 runs.
Chasing the target, India scored 261 runs in just 41.3 Overs with 7 wickets left to spare. Virat Kohli’s century and Shubman Gill’s 53 runs made things smoother for India. Kohli received the Player of the Match title for his batting skit. This is India’s fourth win of the tournament, and they haven’t lost a single match yet.
Needless to say, Bangladesh felt the absence of Shakib Al Hasan today. Harsha Bhogle pointed this out in his X post; he stated, “The absence of Shakib is a big blow because effectively they lose two players. On this good batting surface, Litton, Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim will have to shoulder a lot more. Also, asking a lot of Mehidy to play the Shakib role.” On top of that, Bangladesh’s questionable batting order remains a mystery to anyone outside the team or management.
The absence of Shakib is a big blow because effectively they lose two players. On this good batting surface, Litton, Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim will have to shoulder a lot more. Also, asking a lot of Mehidy to play the Shakib role.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 19, 2023
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This Sunday, India will try to solidify their dominance against another championship contender, New Zealand. In contrast, Bangladesh will be looking forward to scraping some points to stay relevant in the semifinal race against South Africa on the 24th of October.
