Birmingham: Team India made their way to semi-finals of 2019 World Cup by beating Bangladesh with a margin of 28 runs on Wednesday. This loss essentially ended Bangladesh’s contention in the tournament.
Captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first. Edgbaston was dry and was well-suited for first batting as the pitch is known to get slower for second batting.
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Hitman Rohit Sharma shone once again as India put up a formidable total of 314. Yet another century by Rohit (104 off 92) helped India achieve this feat. With his opening partner KL Rahul (77 off 92), the foundation was laid. Rishabh Pant (48 off 41) missed his first World Cup fifty by a nick.
Failed Indian middle-order
But sadly the middle order failed once again and has become the team’s growing concern. Team India might have confirmed their semi-finals entry, but the way ahead is not going to be an easy one. The middle-order need to keep up the momentum built by the openers.
Bangladesh came next to bat. They were piling up runs steadily and at a point, it seemed as if none of the bowling tricks was working. Last match’s hero Mohammad Shami came out with the highest economy. Luckily, pacer Jasprit Bumrah kept felling wickets at regular intervals. He scalped 4 wickets. Fellow pacer Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets while spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took one wicket.
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The game was considered done and dusted when Shakib was sent back to the pavilion after getting foxed by a slower ball from Pandya, departing for 66.
However, the Bangladeshi lower-order refused to give up, and Mohammad Saifuddin (51 not out) and Sabbir Rahman (36) giving India another reminder of why switching off after getting the main threat out can prove costly.
Here’s hoping that India gears up its middle-order for upcoming challenges.
Ms Kalinga