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Rishabh Pant's sensational return to international cricket propelled India to a dominant 60-run victory over Bangladesh in their T20 World Cup warm-up match in New York on June 1. Pant, back in action after a horrific car accident in December 2022, announced his comeback in emphatic style. He smashed a blistering 53 runs off just 32 deliveries, including four towering sixes, before retiring to give others a chance. His knock set the foundation for India's commanding total of 182/5. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's chase fell flat from the very beginning. The Indian bowlers, led by Arshdeep Singh, struck early blows. Soumya Sarkar was dismissed for a duck on the fourth ball, followed by Litton Das who departed for just 6 runs in the first ball of the second over.
This early onslaught put immense pressure on Bangladesh, and they never truly recovered. Their batting collapsed, eventually reaching a meager 120/9. Shivam Dube added some late drama, clinching two wickets in two balls in the final over to end Bangladesh's innings on a whimper. This comprehensive victory serves as a huge confidence boost for Team India as they gear up for their T20 World Cup 2024 opener. Rishabh Pant's return to form and the overall performance of the team bode well for their title aspirations. Bangladesh, however, will need to address their batting woes and find a way to weather early storms if they want to compete effectively in the tournament.
Rohit Sharma still clueless on India's batting order
Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma, who could only manage to score 23 off 19 balls, made it pretty clear that he hasn't really nailed down what the Men in Blue's batting unit will look like, glimpses of which was seen in the warm-up against Bangladesh. Instead of designated opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samon came to open the innings for India with Rohit. However, Samson failed to make a mark with the bat and returned to the pavilion after scoring mere one run. Next came Rishabh Pant, who wreaked havoc with a well-made fifty. Then came Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 18), Shivam Dube (14 off 16), Hardik Pandya (40 off 23) and Ravindra Jadeja (4 off 6).
“Quite happy with how things went. Pretty much got what we wanted from the game. Like I said at the toss, it was important to get used to the conditions. New venue, new ground, drop-in pitch - important to get used to it and we managed pretty well. (On Pant batting at No.3) Just to give him an opportunity. We have not really nailed down what the batting unit will look like,” Rohit said at the post-match press conference.
Rohit all praise for Arhsdeep Singh
Rohit was also full of praise for Arshdeep (2/12), who dazzled with the ball and broke Bangladesh's back.
“Even the bowlers did pretty well. All in happy, happy with how things went. (On Arshdeep) He has shown us, in whatever games he has played, he has the skills up-front. He has got a very good skill-set (at the death too). We saw it today. He bowled pretty well, swung the ball up front, and then bowled one at the back end. We have got 15 good players here. We have to see what the conditions are and then see what combination is best for us,” Rohit concluded.
India will start their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 and will then play their arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9.
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