Bangladesh won the toss and invited India to bat first in their crucial T20 World Cup Super 8 encounter at the at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on June 22. Rohit Sharma's innings against Bangladesh began with a flurry of boundaries, but it was cut short by a risky shot selection. He looked dangerous, scoring 23 runs off just 11 balls with 3 fours and a six. However, his dismissal against Shakib Al Hasan left Indian cricket legend Navjot Singh Sidhu questioning Rohit's approach in this crucial Super 8 encounter. Despite a strong start alongside Virat Kohli, their 39-run partnership in just over 3 overs was ended abruptly by Rohit's wicket.
“It is not good to throw away your wicket after getting a start. Rohit Sharma had a chance to score a hundred as he was looking good but the veteran made a mistake of going hard. I liked the way he hit fours and a six and should have carried on,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Star Sports.
Rohit Sharma started strong with a half-century against Ireland, but his form has dipped since then.
Another India legend Sunil Gavaskar commented on Rohit's dismissal but differently. He said that Rohit goes hard and gets out because he is only thinking about the team.
“Even after getting 10 runs in first 3 balls, Rohit Sharma goes hard and gets out because he is only thinking about the team. He has given great start to Team India today vs Bangladesh,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
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Right after Rohit's departure, Virat Kohli steadies India's boat and played a well calculated knock. However, his innings came to halt in the ninth over, but by then he had already scored 37 off 28 balls. Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube also chipped in with their important contributions. Both Pant and Dube scored 24-ball 36 each. But it was Hardik Pandya who rose to the occasion and scored a blistering 50 off 27 to help India post 196/5 in their stipulated 20 overs.
Later, India ended up thrashing Bangladesh by 50 runs, riding on Kuldeep Yadav's three-fer.
India's Playing XI
Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
Bangladesh's Playing XI
Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das(w), Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman
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