After an emphatic win in Gwalior, India hosted Bangladesh in Delhi for the second T20 match. Both teams entered this game with different momentum, creating an intriguing backdrop for the contest. India was riding high on their recent success, while Bangladesh aimed to bounce back and make a statement. Here’s a detailed review of the thrilling second T20 encounter that unfolded.
India Posts an Impressive Total in the First Innings with a Powerful Batting Performance
The game began with Bangladesh winning the toss and choosing to bowl first on a pitch that is well suited for batting and won't change as the innings progress, and dew later on as well after the stellar batting display at Gwalior. Team India was happy to bat first. An interesting fact in this match was that Bangladesh has beaten India only once in T20I in their previous fifteen encounters, and that sole win came in the Delhi Stadium. Notably, India went unchanged while Bangladesh made one change as Tanzim Shakib plays in for Shoriful.Â
The match began with both the openers, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, making their way into the middle. Surprisingly, the new ball was handed over to Mehidy Hasan Miraz, but this move flopped as Sanju took him on with two consecutive fours to start big for India in the first over. Abhishek Sharma hopped on to this momentum as he also scored boundaries and India's score was 15 runs in the first over.
Then came Taskin Ahmed with the new ball, and straight away he bowled some tight lines and got the wicket of Sanju Samson with a slow ball, whose shot attempt failed as he was caught by Bangladesh captain Shanto. Then came 21-year-old fast bowler Tanzim Shakib, who got the big wicket of Abhishek Sharma in the following over as India's score stood at 25/2 at the end of 3 overs, which was not an ideal start.
Then we got two overs with Indian captain Surya Kumar Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy not taking any risks in the middle. Then, in the last over before the powerplay, Surya was dismissed by Mustafizur's trademark off-cutter as he was caught at cover. This ended the powerplay with India scoring 45/3 in 6 overs. Bangladesh was so happy at this point as they were on top in this game.
Then it was inexperienced Nitish Kumar Reddy accompanied by Rinku Singh in the middle, and they slowly started to build on the innings as they were not taking any risks against the fast bowlers. Then the deadlock was broken two overs later as Rinku smashed a six off Rishad Hossain, followed by a Nitish Kumar Reddy special against Mahmudullah as he smashed him for 15 runs. The momentum slowly shifted towards India as both the set batters took on the bowlers from either side and the 10th over went for 24 runs against Rishad Hossain, where he conceded 3 sixes.
Despite the poor start, India was able to reach 101 runs in 10 overs. Both the batters continued their hitting as Nitish Kumar Reddy reached his maiden T20I fifty in style in just 27 balls. Both Rinku and Nitish Kumar stitched a 108-run partnership. Then Nitish Kumar was dismissed by Mustafizur, but he played an amazing knock considering the circumstances India were in at one point. An impressive debut series for the young man already.
Then came Hardik Pandya as the platform was laid for his flourish and finish. In the meantime, Rinku scored his fifty before getting dismissed by Taskin Ahmed. Then it was Hardik Pandya's show at one end despite losing out on a few batters at one end. He stuck to his rhythm and powered India to a mammoth total of 221/9. The impressive performance in the first innings was from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh, and with the finishing from Pandya, India set a big total and was pretty much happy with the target as bowlers take on from here.
Bangladesh Collapse during the Chase
Bangladesh was set a massive target of 222 by India, making it a mammoth task for them against the in-form bowling lineup. As we saw Bangladesh openers Parvez Hossain and Litton Das make their way to the middle, Arshdeep Singh had the new ball. Parvez immediately took on Arshdeep from the first ball, opening the scoring with a boundary and giving Bangladesh a quick start with 14 runs in the first over.
In a surprise move, Nitish Kumar Reddy was given the new ball by his captain. After an impressive first innings, he bowled an over with an impressive line and length, conceding just six runs. After a decent over, Arshdeep Singh was able to get rid of Parvez Hossain once again with a thick inside edge as he attempted to slog one. Bangladesh lost their opener, and at the end of the 3rd over, Bangladesh were 29/1 with their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto coming in and Litton Das in the middle. Both went after the Indian bowlers, but Shanto was dismissed by Washington Sundar after a clever bowling change by Surya Kumar Yadav.
Then it was Varun Chakravarthy’s turn as he dismissed Litton Das with a beautiful googly. At the end of the powerplay, Bangladesh was restricted to 43/3, with another bowling change bringing in Abhishek Sharma, who also claimed a wicket. Spinners were doing magic on this pitch, and the grind continued as Bangladesh were 70/4 at the end of 10 overs. With more than 160 runs to chase, it was a huge task for the Bangladesh batters.
With a positive intent, they began the 11th over with a huge six from Mahmudullah. But his partner Mehidy Hasan Miraz tried a lofted shot and mistimed it, resulting in an easy catch for the fielder. Now Bangladesh had lost half of their side. The wickets kept falling, and this chase was nowhere near for Bangladesh as they only scored 135/9 in the 20 overs, with India winning the game by 86 runs.
Bangladesh's only hope was Mahmudullah, who scored 41 runs, but the target was too much for him. In the end, 7 bowlers were used by Surya Kumar Yadav in this innings, and all delivered for him. The most impressive were Varun Chakravarthy and Nitish Kumar Reddy, each with 2 wickets. Nitish Kumar Reddy was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round performance.
As it stands, India has taken a commanding 2-0 lead in the series and is poised to clinch a perfect victory against Bangladesh with just one match remaining in Hyderabad. With their sights set on a clean sweep, the team aims to deliver a standout performance in the final game.
