Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya overtook legendary batter Virat Kohli to achieve a unique feat of finishing most T20I matches with a six. Hardik Pandya accomplished this feat during the first T20I against Bangladesh at Gwalior. During the game, Hardik Pandya delivered a superb all-round performance.
First while bowling, Hardik Pandya took a wicket for 26 runs in his four overs, with an economy rate of 6.50. Later, during a run-chase of 128 runs, Hardik Pandya delivered perfect finishing touches with a quickfire 39* in 16 balls, with five fours and two sixes. Hardik Pandya runs came at a strike rate of 243.75.
A young Indian side outgunned an experienced Bangladesh to start off the three-T20I series. Two debutants in their XI, only three men retained from the side that won the T20 World Cup earlier this year, but India were too good for Bangladesh, who wore the same look of the side from the World Cup.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch Report : “Dimensions – 64 meters and 65 meters square boundaries, 74 meters straight down the ground. Looks like a typical central Indian wicket and it is a black soil surface but it is laid in with grass on top. The grass looks quite dry. The pitch itself looks quite firm. There is no sample size because this is the first international game being played here.
The local T20 league that happened a couple of months ago – there were lots of runs on offer. Teams were scoring above 200 and that’s what you’d think when you look at this surface. Lots of fours and sixes. In those 12 games, teams batting second won 8 out of the 12. The curator spoke to me and he said the last four days there’s been no dew at all. It could be a brave decision to bat but considering it’s a fresh pitch, teams would love to bowl first.” reckons Abhinav Mukund
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to field with two debutants in Mayank Yadav and Nitish Reddy in the playing XI. Najmul Hossain Shanto batting first also made few changes in the playing XI.
Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy restricts Bangladesh to 127.
T20 champions India lived up to the title bestowed on them earlier this year in a dominating seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Gwalior’s new venue on Sunday. Arshdeep Singh and Varun CV picked three wickets each to bundle out the visitors for 127 before the batters flexed their muscles to wrap up the chase in just the 12th over.
Bangladesh failed to impose themselves after Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and decided to chase. Litton Das’s attempt to do that in the opening over cost him his wicket as he top-edged a ball from Arshdeep Singh and was caught by Rinku Singh. Debutant opener Pervez Hossein Emon eased some nerves with a flicked six off Hardik Pandya in the second over, but played one on from Arshdeep in the third.
The much-anticipated debut of Mayank Yadav began with a maiden over inside the PowerPlay against Towhid Hridoy. Varun CV, returning to T20I action after a gap of 86 games, reaped the rewards of the pressure that over put on Hridoy, as the batter hit one to Hardik at long on. Mayank cranked up the pace like he did impressively in this year’s IPL, and was rewarded in his second over with a maiden T20I wicket – of Mahmudullah.
Opting to bowl, India restricted Bangladesh to 127 with Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy picking three wickets each. Apart from Mehidy Hasan Miraz (35), no other Bangladesh batter clicked as the Indian bowlers chipped away at regular intervals.India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (27 runs from 25 balls, 1 four and 1 six) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (35* runs from 32 balls, 3 fours) were the top scorers for the visitors, injecting a small bit of life in an otherwise struggling innings. Bangladesh was bundled out for 127 runs in 19.5 overs.
Arshdeep (3/14) was the pick of the bowlers for India. Varun Chakravarthy bagged three wickets for 31 runs on his return to the side after 2021. Pace sensation Mayank Yadav, Washington Sundar and Hardik got a scalp each.
Hardik Pandya’s blitz 16 ball 39 powers India’s chase to victory
The run-chase became a canter for India with the openers Sanju Samson (29) and Abhishek Sharma (16) starting off rapidly. After Abhishek’s unfortunate run out, Samson along with Suryakumar Yadav (29) kept the intent going and played their natural shots. After both the batters fell, it was Hardik Pandya and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (16 not out) who put up a fifty-run stand to see India over the line.
During the chase of 128 runs, Abhishek Sharma (16 in seven balls) was run out due to a miscommunication. However, Sanju Samson (29 in 19 balls with six fours) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (29 in 14 balls, with two fours and three sixes) stitched a 40-wicket stand for the second wicket.
Then, it was Hardik Pandya who sealed the win for India, putting up a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket with debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (16* in 15 balls, with a six). Bangladesh failed to rise with the ball in the second inning and could only pick up two wickets. Mustafizur Rahman and Mehidy were the only wicket-takers for the visitors. Hardik Pandya once again proved his worth as an allrounder in T20 cricket by chipping in with a wicket and scoring an unbeaten quickfire of 39 off 16 balls.
No-look ramp shot if not played earlier then Hardik Pandya can get a patent done for it as the allrounder played it with so much swagger off a Taskin Ahmed delivery in the first T20 International of the three-match series against Bangladesh on Sunday. No-look ramp shot if not played earlier then Hardik Pandya can get a patent done for it as the allrounder played it with so much swagger off a Taskin Ahmed delivery in the first T20 International of the three-match series against Bangladesh on Sunday
Hardik Pandya was in a hurry to wrap up the match as soon as he took guard to face the first ball with India chasing a small target of 128. With India on 116 for 3 and 12 runs away from victory, Hardik Pandya decided to take on Taskin in the 12th over and on the third ball of the over the bowler digs in a short ball angling into the body.
Hardik Pandya at the last moment plays a no-look ramp shot over the wicketkeeper and doesn’t even bother to look where the ball went and instead keeps on looking at the bowler. Taskin couldn’t believe it and so did his team-mates with the commentators gushing over the shot which only Hardik Pandya could have pulled off.
The no-look ramp shot would soon be a talking point and go viral for sure on social media. Hardik Pandya once again proved his worth as an allrounder in T20 cricket by chipping in with a wicket and scoring an unbeaten quickfire of 39 off 16 balls, studded with two sixes and five hits to the fence. Hardik Pandya’s all-round show helped India win the match by seven wickets and take 1-0 lead in the series. Thanks to the Hardik Pandya knock, India won the match with most balls (49) to spare, a little milestone on the way.
India then put on a clinic of PowerPlay batting. Sanju Samson got India going with a glorious drive down the ground and Abhishek Sharma started an evening to forget for Taskin Ahmed with a straight six. Though India lost Abhishek to a run-out in the second over, they’d picked 15 off it.
They continued in the same vein as Suryakumar Yadav unfurled a couple of typical, unorthodox slaps for sixes behind square. He repeatedly targeted the region and Taskin bore the brunt. Suryakumar kept playing with fire and fell in the sixth over but India got out of the PowerPlay with 71/2 – more than half the target in front of them. It was also India’s highest PowerPlay score against Bangladesh in T20Is.
Sanju Samson too fell shortly after but India didn’t take their foot off the pedal, getting to 106/3 at the halfway stage. Hardik Pandya played the shot of the game in the 12th over – a no-look ramp for a four off Taskin before hitting another four and smashing a short ball for a six to finish off the chase, and walk away with an undefeated 39 off just 16 balls.
The hosts were not going to be satisfied with just a win. They wanted a big win. Sanju Samson, with another shot at opening the innings in the absence of Yashaswi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, got off to a great start with two boundaries driven either side of the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Abhishek Sharma was less touch and more power as he took Taskin Ahmed down for a six and two fours in the second over. Almost as though he was on an adrenalin rush, he ran himself out looking for a non-existent single.
India, though, continued to leave Bangladesh helpless. Samson kept driving down the ground while Suryakumar Yadav manufactured shots behind the wicket. The result was India’s best powerplay against Bangladesh in T20Is: 71, which is just the fourth-highest they have conceded in powerplays.
His dismissal in the final over of the powerplay didn’t slow India down although Samson will be disappointed he fell to a hoick the first ball of offspin he faced. Both of them scored quick 29s. Hardik Pandya, 39 off 16, continued to have his way with Bangladesh, topping the chase with a no-look ramp over the keeper’s head. Arshdeep was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his fine spell which also included key wicket of Litton Das. India is up 1-0 in the three-match series.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Najmul Hossain Shanto the losing skipper said : Yes, I think we didn’t start well. In T20, first six overs is important but we didn’t do well. The plan was to play positive cricket but we had to manage some overs how we want to approach. Looks like we didn’t have much plan but we need to do proper plan in the next match.
We need to focus on rotating the strike, T20 is not only about hitting. If we keep wickets in hand, we can get a good score. We didn’t score many runs. Rishad bowled well and Fizz was also good but we didn’t have enough runs.
Suryakumar Yadav the winning skipper said : We just tried to back our skills and what we decided in our team meetings, it worked out. The way the guys showed character playing on a new ground and the way we batted, it was great. It’s a good headache to have when you are on the field on whom to bowl.
Every time you have an extra option, it’s a good thing. You learn something new every new game. There are always a few areas to improve on, we will sit down and talk about it in the next game.
Arshdeep Singh Player of the Match for 3 wickets said : There’s breeze from the end I was bowling. I didn’t get the wicket the way I wanted but the ball is coming good from the hand. It’s minor changes in the run-up, in the wrist, I keep learning and exploring things. The experience is there, the more you play the better you get.
Everyone bowled well, especially Mayank was very good. I guess the best thing in this format is how well you can adapt to the situation, to the wicket and to the ground dimensions as well. My motive is how well I can adapt and how quickly I can adapt.
India have sailed through to a convincing victory with consummate ease. The T20 World Champions might be missing their stalwarts but there’s no dearth of talent in this young Indian side. Only Shanto and Mehidy Hasan showed some resistance for Bangladesh but apart from that, there was nothing much to write about their batting performance. Agreed that the pitch was on the slower side but a lot of the Bangladeshi batters were dismissed courtesy poor shots. 127 was not going to be enough against a deep Indian batting lineup.
Abhishek started off in his typical slam-bang fashion but a misjudgement resulted in his run-out. Suryakumar attacked from the word-go and Samson played some beautiful strokes from the other end. The Indian skipper departed after playing a breezy cameo but the game was almost done by then. 71 runs came off the powerplay which completely pushed Bangladesh on the back foot.
Samson also fell against the run of play. Pandya kept the runs flowing with some audacious strokes and along with Nitish Reddy, took India to a thumping win with 49 balls to spare. A near-perfect game for India to go 1-0 up in the series. It was exciting to see Mayank Yadav in operation at the international stage.
Raw pace always excites and he bowled with good rhythm and control. The other debutant, Nitish Reddy, is also a good prospect with both bat and ball. It was impressive the way India controlled the game with both ball and bat. Bangladesh were once again found wanting with the bat. Too many rash shots led to their downfall. They would want to put up a more disciplined performance going forward.