A fantastic unbeaten 60 from wicket keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, helped Bangladesh draw first blood in the T-20 series against India at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on Sunday. Many had expected this game to be a walk in park for India in the absence of Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, but the visitors surprised one and all by claiming their first ever victory in this format against the Men in Blue.
Here are our talking points from the game.
Dropped Krunal Pandya catch costs India dear
Bangladesh’s batsmen, despite having wickets in hand, had found it difficult to accelerate on the slow Kotla pitch. The Tigers needed 33 off 16 balls with the impressive Yuzvendra Chahal bowling his last over. Mushfiqur, who had fought his way to 38 off 36, attempted a slog sweep. It went straight down the throat of Krunal Pandya at deep midwicket, but the all rounder inexplicably dropped the catch. Not only did Pandya squander the opportunity to get rid of Bangladesh’s best batsman, but he also let the ball trickle over the rope for a boundary. Buoyed by that four, Mushfiqur proceeded to take Khaleel Ahmed apart in the next over and finished on 60* (43) to guide Bangladesh to a famous victory.
Two LBW reviews not taken
As mentioned above, Yuzvendra Chahal was impressive on his return to the line up. He rapped Mushfiqur twice on the pads in the same over early in his spell. India choose not to review either, even as replays showed three reds on both occasions. To make matters worse, the hosts also wasted a review on a Soumya Sarkar edge that was never there in the first place. The crowd at the Kotla made their feelings known with chants of “Dhoni Dhoni”, implying that India may not have committed these blunders had the veteran been behind the stumps. Continue reading “Historic Tigers win, forgettable Dube T20 debut & more- Five Talking Points from India vs Bangladesh 1st T20 2019 Delhi”