Before facing defending champions Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final, Rohit Sharma made a few too many changes in the playing XI and paid the price for it. A depleted and knocked-out Bangladesh signed off with a six-run win despite Shubman Gill’s fifth ODI century as several changes evened the odds at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
In the run chase of 266, India lost two early wickets. Debutant Tanzim Hasan Sakib got skipper Rohit out for a two-ball duck. In his next over, he outfoxed debutant Tilak Varma who got bowled in an attempt to leave the ball. Gill led the run chase whereas KL Rahul took his time. In the 18th over, Rahul lost his wicket to Mahedi Hasan. He scored 19 runs from 38 balls. Meanwhile, Gill had reached his half-century from 61 balls. Ishan Kishan struggled to rotate the strike against spinners. In an attempt to play a reverse sweep, he got out lbw by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Gill hit Shakib for a six. At the halfway stage, India were 106/4.
Suryakumar Yadav hit a few boundaries. In the 33rd over, he paid the price of playing too many sweep shots. He got bowled by Shakib. The middle-order batter scored 26 runs from 34 balls. With the required run rate climbing up, Gill went after Miraz and hit two sixes in the 36th over. Ravindra Jadeja missed out on an opportunity to finish the game as he got out bowled to Mustafizur Rahman playing a nothing shot. In the next over, Gill got to his century from 117 balls. In the same over, he hit Sakib for two fours. As Patel tried to play himself in, Gill looked to attack. He hit Mahedi for a six but got out the next ball as the ball was pitched far away from his arc. The opener scored 121 runs from 133 balls including eight fours and five sixes.
After Gill's wicket, Patel took the responsibility. He smashed Nasum Ahmed for a six and a four in the 45th over. Shardul Thakur tried to hit big shots but could not get it in the middle of the bat. In the 48th over, Patel hit a four and a six to bring the equation to 17 runs from 12 balls. In the penultimate over, Mustafizur started off with the wicket of Thakur who flicked it straight to square leg fielder Miraz. Mohammed Shami took a single to get Patel on strike. Patel found the gap and scored a much-needed boundary. He took the aerial route next and got caught. The all-rounder scored 42 runs from 34 balls including three fours and a couple of sixes. In the final over, Mohammed Shami hit a four to reignite hopes. But he got run out of the penultimate delivery as India lost the match by six runs.
Earlier, Rohit won the toss and opted to field first. Opener Tanzid Hasan hit a few boundaries against new ball bowlers. Litton Das' poor run continued and he got out bowled for a two-ball duck by Mohammed Shami. In the next over, Thakur got the wicket of the other opener. In his next over, he got the wicket of Anamul Haque with a short ball. After a couple of dropped catches, Mehidy failed to make the most of it. Patel was introduced into the attack and he delivered with the wicket.
Shakib and Towhid Hridoy did some damage control. After a slow start, Hridoy smashed Tilak for two sixes in the 23rd over. Shakib picked up pace as well. He hit Patel for two sixes in the 26th over and reached his half-century from 65 balls. The two batters shared a 101-run partnership for the fifth wicket. After the drinks break, Thakur got the breakthrough with the wicket of Shakib. The captain scored 80 runs from 85 balls including six fours and three sixes. In the next over, Jadeja got the wicket of Shamim Hossain to complete 200 ODI wickets.
Hridoy got to his half-century with a boundary. He took 77 balls to reach the milestone. In the next over, Shami got the wicket of Hridoy. He scored 54 runs from 81 balls including five fours and a couple of sixes. Nasum missed out on his half-century as Prasidh Krishna's slower ball got the better of him. He scored 44 runs from 45 balls including six fours and a six. In the penultimate over, Thakur was hit for a six by Sakib. In the final over, Krishna conceded two fours to help Bangladesh post 265/8.
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