Injured
Mohammed Shami ruled out of Asia Cup
Bhuvaneshwar
Kumar has been named his replacement, who hasn’t had a fruitful time in any of
the three formats in international cricket and has only represented India in
ODIs in recent times conceding over 200 runs in his last 3 matches, and it is
unlikely that he will be picked in the well settled first 11.
This
injury is another setback for Mohammed Shami, however the selectors are
confident that he will get ample match practice before featuring in the T20
World Cup. This was a reason why he was selected for the Asia Cup as a
precursor to the big tournament and Sandeep Patil had earlier said, “We have
good time for making a call on Shami. He has been one of our best bowlers. He
has recovered, he has started bowling. That’s what I can say at the moment.”
while picking the squad.
However,
more time has passed and it will be difficult for Shami to make an immediate
impression having played only 4 matches since March 2015. It is clear, though,
that he remains a vital cog in the India’s plans as they build for the World
T20, starting for them on 15th March, almost a year since Shami last
represented India, on 26th March. It will be interesting to see how Shami holds
up and whether he can be at his best at that time.
Rohit, Hardik Pandya get India off to smashing
start in Asia Cup
The stage looked set for the promising Bangladesh tigers to
challenge India on an uncharacteristically green track after putting them into
bat. However, once Rohit Sharma was dropped on 21 in the 11th over, India added
115 more runs in the next 57 balls. After losing 3 quick wickets, Yuvraj Singh
and Rohit Sharma stitched a reviving 55 run partnership. Rohit, once on 21 off
28 balls thrashed 62 runs in his next 26 balls to finish on 83 and Hardik
Pandya made a 18 ball 31 in a 61 run partnership off just 4.3 overs to
debilitate the Bangladeshi bowlers.
Mustafizur Rahman who had promised so much when India last came
here, had a terrible day with the ball, going wicket less and conceding 40
runs. Al Amin Hossain, apart from a thrashing in his penultimate over, was a
shining light with the ball picking up 3 for 37 in his 4. The spinners, Shakib
Al Hasan and Mahmudullah did a decent job in the middle overs to stem the run
flow and pick up 2 crucial wickets between them. However, it was always going
to be a tough job for Bangladesh after conceding 166 runs, at least 20 runs
more than they would’ve liked.
In the second innings, the Indian seamers Ashish Nehra and
Jasprit Bumrah bowled 3 overs apiece with the new ball to pick up 2 wickets and
concede just 31 runs. Imrul Kayes and Shakib Al Hasan made 17 runs in the 32
balls they played, sapping the momentum out of the chase.
Sabbir Rahman was the only batsman, coming in at No.3, who
provided impetus and displayed a sense of urgency with a well compiled 44, and
no one else could make a game changing impact. 4 of the 5 bowlers used conceded
23 runs for India and picked up wickets, with Ashish Nehra getting 3
wickets, 1 in the power play and 2 at the end. Bangladesh finished on a lowly
121 after the loss of 7 wickets, and ended up losing the match by 45 runs.
It was the perfect all round performance by India. They broke
the green track hoodo and Yuvraj Singh and Pandya got some much needed match
practice. Pandya was even impactful with the ball, and may have all the ingredients
to be the perfect seaming allrounder for India.
However, Bangladesh need to buck up and keep the preparations
high for their next match against UAE on Friday. They might have to rethink
their strategy of keeping Shakib, Rahim and Mahmudullah at 5,6 and 7 as they
simply didn’t have enough time to make something of the chase. India now play
Pakistan in a high profile encounter on 27th February.
Composed Kohli gets India over the line after
bowlers demolish Pakistan
The moment all fans had been desperately waiting for had
arrived. After 377 days, the arch rivals were facing off in another one off
encounter that created as much hype as usual. MS Dhoni won the toss and chose
to bowl on another unexpectedly green track. As it turned out, the toss was
inconsequential as Pakistan were going to bat anyway. The nerves were always
going to play a part. They showed on Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor and Mohammad
Hafeez, even though Shahid Afridi claimed the boys were calm at the toss.
It didn’t take long to prove him wrong.
Ashish Nehra struck in the first over as he has so often, and
Jasprit Bumrah was effective yet again. At 32-2, the score didn’t seem that bad
as to end up on a horrendous 83. It all perspired from a run out from Khurram
Manzoor, and things slumped woefully from there. Hardik Pandya struck in his
first over, Yuvraj on his first ball and then again by the virtue of another
run out. It was 52-7 in no time. It was a well rounded performance from the
bowlers as, unlike in Pakistan’s case there was not one chief destroyer, but
everyone made an impact. Pandya picked up 3, Jadeja 2 and Nehra, Bumrah and
Yuvraj one each. The fielders played their part with 2 run outs too.
However, this was not the perfect match for India. Mohammad Amir
started off on a role, looking invincible, with bouncers, toe crushers and
snorters. India were 8-3 in 2.3 overs and things heated up. It could’ve been
curtains for India with Mohammad Amir still having 2.3 overs remaining, Wahab
Riaz and Mohammad Irfan yet to bowl, and a fragile Yuvraj Singh, inexperienced
Hardik Pandya and an MS Dhoni who was not 100% fit left. Kohli was there, yet
again, and kept all the bowlers at bay. He never looked flustered or troubled,
and his sense of calmness certainly helped a visibly struggling Yuvraj in the
middle. Kohli saw out Amir and Irfan, and then attacked Wahab in a subtle
manner which was pleasing to the eye while Yuvraj was blocking and fending his
way out of trouble.
Yuvraj gritted his way to a 32 ball 14 but the important thing
was that he was unbeaten at the end, and didn’t go for a million dollar shot at
any stage. He may have erred in judgement many amount of times with his agonisingly
close leaves and uncomfortable pokes. It seemed like Virat Kohli was batting on
a different pitch all together. He made more than half of the teams runs and
fell agonisingly close to the victory. He even won the man of the match award
in a match where only 168 runs were scored at less than 6 an over. His composed
stature played a huge role in bailing India out of 8-3 to win the match by 5
wickets with 4.3 overs remaining, by no means a stroll, but definitely a
confidence booster.
India go top of the table with 2 wins from 2 games and face Sri
Lanka on 1st of March. Pakistan play UAE on 29th February next, giving them a
great opportunity to bounce back.
