Bangladesh started their T20 mission with a defeat. In the first match of the three-match series, the Tigers were outclassed by India. Bangladesh lost by 7 wickets.
After losing the toss and being put in to bat on Sunday in Gwalior, Bangladesh couldn’t capitalize. They couldn’t post a competitive total, managing only 127 runs in 19.5 overs, losing all their wickets. In response, India chased down the target in just 11.5 overs, losing only 3 wickets.
The collapse began from the very first over. Liton Das was dismissed for just 5 runs off 0.5 overs, caught behind off Akash Deep’s bowling. Before Bangladesh could recover, Akash struck again in the following over.
This time, his victim was Parvez Hossain Emon, returning to the team after nearly one and a half years. The promising batter couldn’t make a mark, getting out for 8 runs off 9 balls. Despite no further losses during the powerplay, Bangladesh could only reach 39 runs.
Towhid Hridoy, after settling in, was dismissed for just 12 runs off 18 balls, falling to Varun Chakravarthy. In the next over, Mayank Yadav made an impact by taking his first international wicket, dismissing Mahmudullah Riyad.
Mahmudullah was out for just 1 run off 2 balls, and Bangladesh found themselves struggling at 43 for 4 in 7.2 overs. The fifth wicket also fell soon after, with Zakir Ali getting out for 8 runs off 8 balls in the 10th over.
However, thanks to Najmul Hossain Shanto’s resilience, Bangladesh managed to score 64 runs for the loss of 5 wickets after 10 overs. The Bangladesh captain kept one end secure, but his innings ended at 27 runs off 25 balls, falling to Washington Sundar’s trap.
Rishad Hossain had previously shown promise with the bat, and there was hope again today. But he had to stop at 11 runs off 5 balls. At 13.5 overs, Bangladesh had lost 7 wickets for 93 runs.
From there, Mehidy Hasan Miraz built a small resistance with Taskin Ahmed. Their partnership of 23 runs ended when Taskin was run out for 12 runs off 13 balls. In the final stages, Mehidy carried the team alone, his unbeaten 35 runs off 32 balls helping Bangladesh reach 127.
Varun Chakravarthy and Akash Deep both took three wickets each.
India, in response, started aggressively. However, Bangladesh got their first breakthrough in the second over when Abhishek Sharma was run out for 16 runs off 7 balls. But Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson kept the momentum going.
The duo added 40 runs off the next 20 balls. Suryakumar was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman for 29 runs off 14 balls, and Sanju also departed for 29 runs, with Mehidy getting the wicket. At 7.5 overs, India had lost 3 wickets for 80 runs.
Nitish Kumar and Hardik Pandya took India home from there. Hardik was particularly aggressive, his destructive innings of 39* runs off 16 balls sealing the win for India in just 11.5 overs. Nitish contributed 16 runs.
With the ball, Taskin Ahmed conceded 44 runs in 2.5 overs without taking a wicket. Mustafizur Rahman took 1 wicket, giving away 36 runs in 3 overs.
