Rohit Sharma slammed a quickfire 83 to power India to a comprehensive 45-run victory against Bangladesh in the first match of the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Dhaka, on Wednesday.
Put into bat, India posted a healthy 166 for six in their 20 overs courtesy of Rohit, who smashed seven fours and three sixes in his 55-ball knock. The young Hardik Pandya chipped in with an entertaining innings of 31 from 18 balls as the duo put on 61 runs from 29 balls for the fifth wicket to get the Indian innings back on track after a poor start.
However, Bangladesh never got going with the bat and finished on a disappointing 121 in their 20 overs.
Sabbir Rahman was the only batsman to get past the 20-run mark as he hit 44 off 32 deliveries but received no support, as the Bangladeshis played careless shots and lost wickets at regular intervals.
IMAGE: Rohit Sharma hits a shot against Bangladesh. Photograph: Solaris Images
Earlier, put into bat by Bangladesh captain Mushrafe Mortaza, India suffered an early top-order collapse before Rohit built his innings by hitting seven fours and three sixes, silencing the 25,000 strong partisan Bangladeshi fans.
The Mumbai batsman was well complemented by young Hardik Pandya, who smashed a quick-fire 18-ball 31, including a huge six off Bangladesh’s 'wonder boy' Mustafizur Rahaman, and four boundaries at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
The Rohit-Pandya fifth wicket stand yielded 61 runs from just 28 balls. Their 50 run stand came off just 17 balls.
While India were in trouble at 52 for three after first 10 overs, the next half saw them score a whopping 114 runs, primarily due to Rohit, who enthralled one and all with his dazzling stroke play.
When he was finally out to brilliant catch in the deep taken by Soumya sarkar, India had not only recovered but were also on way to setting a competitive target. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni finished the innings with a pulled six off Al-Amin Hossain (3/37).
IMAGE: Hardik Pandya in action during his quick-fire innings. Photograph: Solaris Images
Rohit also added 55 runs for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh after India were reduced to 42 for three.
Rohit curbed his natural game in the beginning, taking into account the nature of the pitch and the position of his team.
In fact, he scored his first 20 runs off 24 balls with India managing only 52 runs in the first 10 overs.
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