IND vs AUS: Men in Blue aim for equaliser, look to end top order, death bowling struggles
It has been a while since the top order consisting of KL Rahul, skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have fired in unison.
After a poor start with opener Saumya Sarkar getting out for naught, Bangladesh fought back and posted a competitive 265-run target for India, courtesy half centuries by Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim in the second semi-final match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 at Edgbaston on Thursday.
Opener Tamim scored 70 runs off 82 balls, while wicketkeeper-batsman Rahim slammed 61 runs at a strike rate of 71.76. Both the batsmen put 123 runs for the third-wicket partnership, highest in Bangladesh's innings.
Indian speedster Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the bowling attack, dismissing the opener Soumya Sarkar for duck in the first over while the second wicket came soon as the 27-year-old pacer got Sabbir Rahman (19) out in the seventh over.
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Despite the early fall of wickets, Bangladeshi batsmen didn't buckle under pressure and maintained a healthy run rate of above five runs per over.
However, pacer Jasprit Bumrah took crucial wickets in his second spell especially in the death overs and got Mosaddek Hossain (15) and Mahmudullah (21) out in the 43rd and 45th over respectively.
Part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav also made merry as he claimed two big wickets of Tamim and Rahim — in the 28th and 36th over respectively while Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Bangladeshi star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (15) at a crucial stage of the game.
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza shouldered the responsibility of ensuring that his team posted a competitive total and he remained unbeaten on 30 runs with five boundaries. Tail-ender Taskin Ahmed also supported the skipper as he scored 11 runs under extreme pressure.
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