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KL Rahul's on-field brilliance and divine intervention by the rain gods steered India a step closer to the T20 World Cup semi-finals with a crucial five-run victory over Bangladesh in a rain-curtailed thriller on Wednesday (November 2).
Having posted an imposing total of 184 for 6 courtesy Virat Kohli (64 not out off 44) and KL Rahul (50 off 32), little did India factor in what was about to hit them in the form of Litton Das (60 off 27 balls).
Needing 151 in 16 overs as per the revised target after a brief spell of rain, Bangladesh managed 145/6 in the end. India, who now have six points from four games, will need to beat Zimbabwe in their last Super-12 match to clinch a last four place.
Needing 20 off last over, young Arshdeep Singh showed ice-cool temperament despite Nurul Hasan hitting him for a six and four as he bowled couple of perfect yorker length deliveries to seal the tie.
Meanwhile, India's skipper Rohit Sharma lauded young turk Arshdeep for his sensational show with the ball when team needed it the most.
“Bit of both. I was calm and nervous at the same time. It was important for us as a group to stay calm and execute our plans. With 10 wickets in hand it could've gone either way but after the break we did well. When he came into the scene (on Arshdeep), we asked him to do that for us. With Bumrah not there, someone has to do it for us, and take the responsibility, for such a young guy to come and do it is not easy. But we prepared him for it. The last 9 months he has been doing it. There was a choice betweeen Shami and him but we backed someone who did the job for us previously. In my opinion he was always there, it was a matter of few innings here and there, he got it in the Asia Cup. We never had any doubts and the way he has been batting in this World Cup has been tremendous and he is really doing it for us [on Kohli]. Also liked the way how KL played today. We know what sort of a player he is, if he bats the way he can, he puts the team in a different position. Our fielding was brilliant, some of the catches we took was great to watch. It's a high-pressure game, to take those catches shows the ability of our guys and honestly I never had any doubts about our fielding,” Rohit said in the post match presentation.
Talking about the match, just when Bangladesh were cruising along at 66 for no loss in 7 overs, heavens opened up much to the delight of the Bangladeshi fans and their partisan media.
After the forced break, the revised target as per DLS method required Bangladesh to score 85 off 54 balls. The break did affect their momentum as Rahul effected a run-out that will be a part of any highlights package with the direct throw from deep mid-wicket getting rid of Litton.
Just like it happened with Mohammed Nawaz in the Asia Cup, India’s coaching staff had no planning for Litton, who cleverly played for the rain.
After a quiet first over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the next over by Arshdeep saw the right-hander repeatedly stepping down the wicket, trying to negate any swing on offer.
In the next few overs, he was all over Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar as he converted good length deliveries into over-pitched ones and lofted them over the infield. It was one of the finest T20I fifties for Bangladesh, coming only in 21 balls.
But Arshdeep (2/38 in 4 overs) coming for his post-rain spell got the dangerous Afif Hossain caught by Surya and then skipper Shakib was caught by substitute fielder Deepak Hooda at deep mid-wicket to change the complexion of the match.
Hardik (2/28 in 3 overs) then removed Yasir Ali and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat in one over to seal the match
