India beat Bangladesh in last-ball thriller

India beat Bangladesh  to keep their hopes alive in the tournament 

Until the last ball is bowled it’s not over. This would best describe the match that was played between India and Bangladesh.  

India survived a scare and kept their hopes alive of entering the semi-final of ICC World T20. Playing in Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, India lost the toss and was put in to bat first by the Bangladeshi skipper, Mashrafe Mortaza. On a slow pitch Bangladeshi stuck to their plans and bowled with utmost discipline and restricted India at the score of 146. No batsman could convert their starts into a big score and the poor run of Indian batsman continued in this tournament. 

When the Bangladeshi batsman came on to bat they were cruising all along the chase. The poor fielding only added to the woes of captain MS Dhoni. Crucial breakthroughs were provided by Ashwin and Jadeja but other bowlers were taken to the cleaners by the Bangladeshi batsman. Jasprit Bumrah particularly, had a bad day in office after he dropped a sitter in the first over and was then taken to the cleaners when he came onto bowl. 

Throughout the match Bangladeshi team were in command over the ‘Big Brothers’.  However, things turned around for the Indian team in the 19^th and 20^th over. Bumrah gave only 6 runs in the 19^th over and now the Bangladeshi team needed only 11 runs off the last over. Pandya was asked to bowl the last over and with two set batsman on the crease in Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah it was only a matter of time for the Bangladeshi team to start their celebration as they would have spoilt India’s party, yet again. 

After hitting a four of the third ball, Mushfiqur had already punched the air and was celebrating their victory but Mushfiqur lofted a six but was caught in the deep by Dhawan. Now Mahmudullah would face the next ball but he too could not hold on to his nerve and while hitting a six was caught by Jadeja. Bangladesh needed two runs to force a tie, but Pandya bowled wide to beat Shuvagata Hom and Mustafizur Rahman was run out by Dhoni.  India registered a thumping one run victory over Bangladesh. The win keeps India on course, and a victory over Australia in the final league game on March 27 will see them through to the semi-finals behind leaders New Zealand. 

Hardik Pandya celebrates India's victory after picking up two wickets in the last over

The next match is against the Kangaroos, which will be a virtual quarter-final and the Australians will not commit hara-kiri as the Bangladeshi did hence, maybe the sprint of MS Dhoni will not also save the day!