Mustafizur Rahman bowled a wicket-maiden in the 18th over of a tense chase, but Dinesh Karthik smashed a stunning, unbeaten cameo off 29 off 8 balls, including a last-ball six when India needed five to win, to snatch the Nidahas Trophy which had threatened to go into Bangladesh’s hands for large parts of the second innings.
Chasing 167 in the final on Sunday (March 18), India found momentum hard to come by in the middle and latter stages, with Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar struggling, but Karthik unleashed all his experience and calmness, taking India home after walking in with 34 needed off the last two overs. Rohit Sharma has earlier set up the chase with 56 off 42.
India started their chase on a high with Rohit slamming Mehedi Hasan, the offspinner, for two sixes and a four in a 17-run second over. But the Indian captain was forced to be a spectator at the other end as Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina fell in a space of five balls. Dhawan was caught at mid-off trying to attack Shakib Al Hasan while Raina was caught behind down the legside off Rubel Hossain and given out on review by Bangladesh.
After the mixed start, India were 32 for 2 in the fourth over. The game could have gone either way from there but India got a solid stand with KL Rahul joining Rohit. With Rahul too starting quickly, India got 56 in the Power Play and then the partnership quickly raced past 50.
Rubel, however, broke the stand with a short ball, forcing Rahul to pull to deep square-leg. India were still in a great position at 84 for 3 after 10 overs, but the momentum slipped quickly with Manish Pandey taking his time to settle.
Pandey managed only six runs off his first 13 balls, and the pressure resulted in Rohit slogging Nazmul Islam to long-on, leaving India 69 to get in 40 balls.
India made an interesting choice by promoting Vijay Shankar, who had not batted in the international cricket before this night, ahead of Karthik. Pandey began to find his timing, but Vijay struggled apart from an early boundary. They got the equation down to 35 off 18 overs, but Mustafizur Rahman proved too good for Vijay in the 18th over with his offcutters. Vijay struggled to connect, and only managed a leg-bye in the penultimate ball. The pressure resulted in Pandey holing out to long-on in the last ball, ending a wicket maiden.
Karthik finally walked in with India needing 34 off the last two overs. The momentum was completely with Bangladesh, but Karthik induced a late twist with 22 runs in the penultimate over, off Rubel. He started by slamming one over long-on, and ended the over scooping over short fine-leg and got the equation down to 12 off the last over, bowled by Soumya Sarkar.
A struggling Vijay managed a boundary but played two dot balls, including the penultimate delivery where he got out, leaving Karthik with five to get off the last ball. The Indian wicketkeeper brought all his experience into play, standing calm and smashing a full ball flat over deep extra cover.
India opted to field first and got off to a great start with their spinners striking early. Washington began by deceiving Liton Das for a miscued catch before Yuzvendra Chahal got Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar. Tamim was caught superbly in the deep by Shardul Thakur while Sarkar swept straight to square-leg, leaving Bangladesh 33 for 3 in five overs.
Sabbir, however, kept Bangladesh going. He first revived the innings with small partnerships with Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, but neither of his partners could carry on for long. To make matters difficult, two key batsmen in Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan were run out.
Amid all this, Sabbir stood tall. Every time a wicket fell, he ensured India were kept in check by counter-attacking. He took a special liking to Vijay and Thakur; Vijay in particular bled runs as Sabbir targeted his slower balls with success. Jaydev Unadkat’s slower ball got the better of Sabbir’s defence in the 19th over, but not before he had taken the team past 140. Even after Sabbir’s exit, Bangladesh had some fuel in the tank as Mehedi Hasan slammed 18 runs in the final over, by Thakur, to lift the side.
As things turned out, Karthik ensured it wasn’t enough.
