Bangladesh suffered a crushing 41-run loss at the hands of India in Dubai as the Men in Blue booked their tickets into the summit clash on Sunday. While Bangladesh had their moments and troubled India in patches, but they couldn’t sustain that momentum and as a result went down to India tamely in the end. Their Super 4 game against Pakistan will be a do or die battle now. Here, we will try and list out three reasons why Bangladesh lost to India.
Dropped catch of Abhishek Sharma by Jaker Ali costs Bangladesh dear
Bangladesh put India into bat first and kept the Indian openers quiet for the first two overs. The form batter Abhishek Sharma too was finding it tough to score against immaculate Bangladesh bowling. Then came the big moment in the game. In the third over of the contest, with Abhishek batting on 7 and India’s score at 10, Jaker Ali the makeshift captain and keeper batter put down Abhishek off the bowling of Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
This was a costly error as Abhishek got a reprieve and suddenly switched gears to take the game away from Bangladesh in the powerplay. Abhishek scored 68 more runs and hurt Bangladesh before he was unfortunately run out. But the damage had been done more or less. Although Bangladesh came back well with the ball to keep India down to 168, the batting failed. They lost the game by 41 runs. Had Abhishek got out for 7, then Bangladesh may well have been chasing something lower around 140 and we may have had a different result to the match.
Catches win matches as the saying goes and Bangladesh needs to be alert on the field and not miss out on key moments as that can cost them the game. Although India dropped a lot more catches than Bangladesh, but this one dropped catch proved to be very costly for the Tigers. They have a quick turnaround with the game against Pakistan coming up tonight and must be alert and sharp in the field. Key moments are important and Bangladesh must try and seize them.
Conceding 72 runs in the powerplay without the loss of any wicket pegged Bangladesh back
Bangladesh did well in the initial couple of overs to keep India at bay. But after the dropped catch of Abhishek Sharma, both Abhishek and Shubman Gill switched gears as they took the attack to the Bangladeshi bowlers in the powerplay. The bowlers too lost the plot after that dropped catch and gave wayward balls while the batters climbed onto that big time.
India scored 62 runs in the last 4 overs of the powerplay and got themselves to 72 after 6 overs. Gill too joined the party and scored 29 off 19 balls yesterday. This meant that Bangladesh were playing catch up in the middle overs from which they could never really claw their way back in the game. Yes, the Tigers did really well to come back in the backend of the innings and keep India down under 170 as 200 looked possible at one stage. But even that score was competitive on the used pitch.
If we look at Bangladesh’s powerplay score after 6 overs and it was 44 runs. The powerplay phase is where Bangladesh lagged behind. India dominated that phase. Each and every phase is important in T20Is and going forward against Pakistan tonight, Bangladesh have to be in the game for all phases and not just do only two phases properly. Against big teams like India, each and every facet of the game is important something Bangladesh will take learnings from the defeat.
Little or no support for Saif Hassan derails Bangladesh
Chasing 169 for the win, Bangladesh lost Tanzid Hasan early. But it was the Saif Hassan show as he played a masterful knock of 69 runs off 51 balls. Yes, he was dropped multiple times by India, but he fought bravely for his side. But there was no support from the other end. Parvez Hossain Emon made 21 and added 42 for the second wicket with Saif. But once Emon fell, Bangladesh innings fell like a pack of cards.
The rest of the batters fell like nine pins with no one after Emon getting to double digits. While Saif from one end kept fighting, he lost partners from the other end in a flash. Some played bad shots and others like Jaker Ali was run out. Credit to India and their spinners led by Kuldeep Yadav to spin a web and put a stranglehold on proceedings, but Bangladesh had no clue how to play them. Had someone given support to Saif Hassan, Bangladesh could have gone close if not win the game. But because wickets fell from the other end, India could breathe easy and didn’t feel the pressure.
Looking ahead to tonight’s game, Bangladesh cannot afford such collapses out there and come back stronger out in the field. Bangladesh needs 2-3 players to contribute with the bat and not just one player. If one is playing well, there has to be another one giving support. Or else, they will struggle to put sufficient runs on the board. One man cannot win you a game. A collective effort is needed from Bangladesh to challenge bigger and better sides.
What Lies Ahead
So, the stage is set after last night’s result. India are through to the finals while Sri Lanka are officially eliminated. The stage is set tonight in Dubai as Pakistan takes on Bangladesh at 8 PM IST. The winner goes straight through to the finals while the loser goes home. Which team will hold their nerve and move forward in the tournament? Only time will tell.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: India Advances To The Final After An Impressive 41-Run Win.