India vs Bangladesh, 5th match, Nidahas T20 Tri-series

Siraj to bowl the last over. Concedes a single. Out!! Siraj gets Miraj. suresh Raina pouches a simple catch at long-off as he miscues the pull. Getting tougher now for Bangladesh ats they require 27 off 4 balls. Four!! Mushfiqur clears the third-man this time, slices it over the infield. He is bowling really short, this time he bowls a bouncer which is too high. A wide. Four!! Mushfiqur milks it through cover for a boundary. Knew Siraj will bowl up now. Siraj has given away 50 runs. This is expensive bowling. But India win by 17 runs to reach the final of the Nidahas T20 Tri-series. Mushfiqur stays unbeaten on 72 off 55 balls.   

Thakur to bowl the penultimate over. Mushfiqur starts with a double at cover. This is good bowling by the Mumbai lad. Knuckle ball deceives Mushfiqur. Slight fumble there the next ball but it is only one. Bangladesh have made this chase interesting with their resilience. even they end up falling short of India's total, they will be richer on the run-rate. Which means the next game could become a virtual semifinal. Thakur has filled in big boots in the death overs, concedes just five in it. Bangladesh 149/5, need 28 in 6 balls.  

Siraj is called back. Mushfiqur cuts him past point and reaches his fifty. Beautiful knock this. Third Bangladesh batsman to score back-to-back fifties in T20s. another four here. He scoops it over fine-leg. Siraj is under the pump now. Manages to singles in two balls. Bowls a bouncer to collect a dot. Siraj bowls a waist-height full toss, Mushfiqur gets caught but it is a no ball. Though third umpire was consulted to check for the height and it is a no ball. Free Hit. Gets hit for a boundary. Great overt this the Tigers. Bangladesh 144/5 in 18 overs. Need 33 in 12 balls. 

Thakur to continue. Knuckle ball and Sabbir doesn't have a clue. This is great control by Thakur. Four!! pulled by Sabbir for a boundary. Loses control on that knuckle ball and drops a litlle short. Follows it up with a regular wide yorker which is guided to deep point for a couple. Out !!! Sabbir is gone. Thakur cleans him up with a length ball and not with knuckle ball. Bangladesh need 50 off 18 balls.  

Washington is called back for his final over. Starts with a quicker delivery outside off and gives a single. Bowls a dot ball next and concedes another one the third ball. He is bowling according to the field. Now Mushfique sits for a reverse sweep but Washington slows his pace down and releases it quite late. No run. This one is yorked. ends his spell with a double. Fine spell there really. Bangladesh 120/4 in 16 overs. Need 57 in 24 balls. 

Vijay Shankar back. Starts with a leg-spin. Next up, it was a half chance at deep square-leg but Thakur does well with a dive to save the boundary. Shankar seems to have been following Ashwin and is bowling leg-breaks now from a big run up. But they are effective at this time. Just seven off this over. Bangladesh 116/4 in 15 overs. Need 61 in 30 balls. 

Thakur is brought back. Time to catch some knuckle balls. Two runs off two balls. Another knuckle delivery on show. Mushfiqur doesn't pick that and plays a dot ball. Next up, this is a wide yorker which is placed for one through off. This is a good over. Bangladesh 109/4 in 14 overs. Need 68 to 36 balls.   

Chahal back now. Tosses it up slowly and concedes a single. Chahal has changed his line towards leg now. He is aware that both these batters can play the inside out well and he wants them to keep sweeping. Leg side is packed. Mushfiqur now makes room for himself but Chahal takes it wide of off. He is playing with their minds. Chess game on. Six!! lands it short now and gets deposited over midwicket. Bangladesh collect 10 runs to reach 104/4 in 13 overs. Need 73 in 42 balls. 

Vijay Shankar to bowl the 12th. Mushfiqur is in the form of his life. Four!! Clears the cover infield this time. Great balance and follow through on display here. Four more!! This time Sabbir launches the attack and dances down. Shankar hit the deck hard and Sabbir swivels to pulls it behind square. This is great cricket happening here. 16 runs in the last over, 13 in this including two fours. Bangladesh 93/4 in 12 overs. Need 84 in 48 balls. 

Siraj back. But Mushfiqur unleashes his wrath. Gets two boundaries and a six in this over. And mind you, this is classic batting and nothing rash. Siraj too kept hitting length, which is not the right length in T20s. Bangladesh get 16 off it. Bangladesh 80/4 in 11 overs.  

Vijay Shankar to bowl the 10th. Intelligent bowling there. He releases the ball quite late. And that is the reason why he is able to alter the length at the end moment. His contribution with the ball has also helped Chahal and Co to keep attacking. Mixing it up really well. One short, another full then a little wide. Just three runs off it. Bangladesh 64/4 in 10 overs. 

Chahal back. Throws the first one wide, the variation. Next one is hit hard back at him for a single. Again a wide. So he has tried to throw in the bait to both the batsmen but to no avail. Well bowled this. It spun sharply and took a leading edge. Out now!!! Mahmudullah departs. Wasn't that short and ends up pulling in the hands of deep mid-wicket. Chahal gets his first, Bangladesh lose their fourth at 61. Sabbir Rahman walks in. Chahal bowls a tight over. Bangladesh 61/4 in 9 overs.    

Vijay Shankar to bowl the 8th over. He has been measured with his length. And he is wise to know which length to bowl against which batsman. Concedes just four. Bangladesh 57/3 in 8 overs. 

Chahal to Mushfiqur. On the third ball, Mushfiqur manufactures the reverse sweep to perfection. Bowling slower is the way to go about it Chahal. Five off the over. Bangladesh 53/3 in 7 overs. 

Wahington is on fire. He knows how to irritate batsmen with his accuracy and cramps them for room. Out!!! Now Tamim loses his stumps. Washington knocks his leg-stump. He moves across to sweep it over fine-leg but misses it completely to give Washington his third. Mahmudullah, meanwhile has decided to take the attack to the opposition. Gets back-to-back fours. Bangladesh 48/3 in 6 overs.  

Yuzvendra Chahal to bowl now. On the money right away. I feel, especially with the new ball, he should bowl slower. He tries to push it through the air to look for spin but ends up pitching it fuller. so far he has bowled really well but just as an example, the fifth ball was again bowled quicker. Mushfiqur nearly got a four. Bangladesh 39/2 in 5 overs. 

Sundar comes back. Has a beautiful high-arm action, which helps him to get the dip. On top of that, his accuracy makes it difficult to pre-meditate against him. Slight variation with pace is the perfect icing on the cake as it keeps the batsmen guessing. Out!! Accuracy pays off. Sarkar loses his cool and goes for a wild heave over mid-wicket only to lose his timber. Bangladesh two down now. Classic bowling this by Washington and by the way he is showing how to do it being an orthodox spinner. No real variations but pure fingerspin. Bangladesh  36/2 in 4 overs. 

Last match's man of the match Shardul Thakur to bowl the third over. Tamim shows his class with back-to-back boundaries. One through cover and the next behind point. Six now. Thakur bangs it short and Tamim hooks it over fine-leg for a maximum. Poor start this by Thakur. Another four. Thakur drops it short again and Tamim pulls it for another boundary. Tamim is once again laying a perfect foundation for Bangladesh in this tricky chase. Bangladesh 31/1 in 3 overs. 

Washington Sundar joins the attack. He tosses the first ball and Liton Das steps out to get hit on the pad. Excited Indians go for a wasteful review. The impact was much outside off. India lose the review. Four!! Liton jumps out again and clears the infield. Out!! Sundar responds in style. Liton jumps out pre-meditatedly and he drops it a touch short. Das deceived and Karthik does the rest at the back. Bangladesh lose their first wicket. Pressure pressure. Sarkar joins in. Plays a dot ball. Sundar bowls a four-run over and gets a wicket. Bangladesh 12/1 in 2 overs. 

We are back for the Bangladesh innings. New man Mohd Siraj to start the proceedings for India. Tamim Iqbal to open with Liton Das. Siraj begins with a quick 145kmph delivery. But drops it short and wide the next. Gets cut for a four. Tamim enjoys that. Misfield there at cover. Tamim gets a run and changes ends. Liton Das on strike and gets a double to start off. Bangladesh 8/0 in 1 over.  

Out!!! Suresh Raina gone. Plays a fine flick but fails to impart the power to see it sail over. Rubel gets a wicket on the first ball and he is delighted. By the way, this wicket came off a full ball. This has been a good over so far. Just four runs off it yet. The reason is no short-pitch bowling. Rohit is Gone on 89. Run Out. India 176/3 in 20 overs. 

Fiz in for his final over. This is poor bowling. Second ball, full toss and Rohit guides it over point for a four. Another four. Another Full toss. Rohit places it through third-man. Can Rohit make a hundred? Quite possible. With such bowling, he just needs couple of big hits now. India get 11, Rohit on 88. India 172/1 in 19 overs. 

Hider Rony is back. surprisingly Bangladesh has shown a lot of confidence in this guy. But his inexperience is hurting him. He drops this slower a touch short and the India skipper dispatches it over mid-wicket for a six!!. This shows how Bangladesh's bowling plans have gone awry. When they should have attacked, they preferred being safe and now they are using their attacking options to end safely. Not to happen. Another six here. Raina gets a slower which is pitched short. He waits for it and slaps hard. Another six to end the over. it's raining sixes here. Rohit smashes the full toss out of the park. This is bad bowling at its best. India will have no problems collecting those important runs. India 161/1 in 18 overs. 

Fiz is back and back with a leg-cutter. Rohit gets a leading edge for a single. Oh, that is good batting by Raina as he backs away and clears the third-man inside the circle for a boundary. Backs away again but Fiz alters his line a bit to see the lefty punching it for a single. Six!! Now Rohit shows intent. Fiz falters with his cutter and Rohit pummels it over square leg for a maximum. With slowers, you can't afford to drop it short. Anyway India get another good over. 14 off it. India 140/1 in 17 overs.  

This is what happens when you exhaust your main bowlers a little too early. Mahmudullah comes in to bowl. They are a spinner short. Concedes a boundary to Raina after bowling a half-tracker. Fiz will have to bowl his two overs, alongside Mehedi and Rubel. India get nine off it. India 126/1 in 16 overs.   

I don't believe this. Bangladesh are going with a defensive approach here. The reason for saving Fiz for the end is to ensure safety at the end. Bangladesh should look to attack at this stage, get some wickets to push India on the back foot. Rubel is not accurate enough and falters with length. Although, he has bowled well so far but one bad over can bring India back. See he digs it short and Raina swings it blindly, the ball flies off the outside edge and goes for a boundary. Now Raina knows he will bowl full and he picks it early, clears the infield for second four of the over. This is a good over for India with 13 off it. India 117/1 in 15 overs. 

Correctly, Mehedi is back. Rohit shows intent straightaway but only for a single. Raina is struggling. The wicket is slow but the next ball is slog swept for a six. It is the length that will do Bangladesh harm. Raina steps down and tonks Mehedi over his head for another four. Hasan under-pressure and tries to salvage the damage. India get 11 off it. India 103/1 in 14 overs. 

This is my personal opinion. With couple each left of Mehedi and Fiz, Bangladesh should use them now. If they manage miserly four overs, they will have an upper hand. Hider, though bowling this over could have been tagged with Rubel at the end. See this is the result of inexperience. He sprays down the leg and Rohit Sweeps him over fine-leg for a boundary. And with a single, Rohit reaches his 13th fifty in T20s, third against Bangladesh. The onus will be on the Indian skipper to take his team to safe total. India get 9 off it, reach 93/1 in 13 overs. 

Is Bangladesh a spinner short here? A good thought to harbour in hindsight but that is what it is. Mahmudullah is trying to save his spinners for the last and has no option but to keep rotating his bowlers. Fiz is back and immediately he is looking like a spinner running in from a long run-up. His supple wrist rolled over the ball inserts sharp rotations which help the ball grip better. He is keeping it tight. Fiz finishes with a miserly over. India 84/0 in 12 overs. 

Rohit knows this is the time to go after Bangladesh. They are not going to give it easy. So Rohit, on the third ball of Nazmul's over, steps out to plonk him over deep mid-wicket for a huge six. A stay of over 10 overs should be enough for Rohit to get out of his shell and show what he is capable of. India 80/1 in 11 overs. 

Common Rubel Hossain. Even if you have a strong shoulder, don't even try pitching short. This is not a pitch for short bowling. Bowling it fuller will trouble the batters more. The ball isn't coming on to the bat and Dhawan shows how he had to literally manufacture shots. well bowled Hossain. Keep your aggression for some good wicket. Bowled!!!! Dhawan is foxed with a slower, was pitched up right there. Finds his timber splattered. India one down at 70. Bangladesh are on top. Meanwhile Suresh Raina is welcomed with a short pitch delivery, which he half flicks half pulls to fine-leg. Just about survives. India 71/1 in 10 overs.  

You could decipher the plan now. Bangladesh are aware that India will be taking them on and bowling seamers can aid in picking their shots well. If these two spinners bowl well at this stage, India will be under pressure to stretch for a big score. The wicket is tricky and is spinning square. The mantra is not let the ball reach the batsmen. Just four runs off it. India need to push from her. India 67/0 in 9 overs. 

Looking at the pitch and going by India's run-rate, it looks like it is 160-170 game. Mehedi Hasan is back. After one good ball, he bowls a half-tracker. Dhawan is super quick to rock back and pull it for a four. Against Dhawan, it is so important to watch the length as slightly short or full will result in runs. And within no time both openers are nearing thirties. Rohit is taking it easy while Dhawan is dominating. Other than the boundary, this has been a good over. India get nine runs to reach 63/0 in 8 overs.  

Nazmul in. Boy Bangladesh are going by the same order. So far, so good. Alters his length and is tossing it up. There was a chance there. Liton Das drops at deep mid-wicket. Dhawan gets a reprieve who fails to connect it properly and the ball climbs up high in the sky. Good comeback by Nazmul, bowls three dot balls. India 54/0 in 7 overs. 

We go back to the first bowler Hider Rony. He will bowl the last over in the powerplay. Starts with a slower one, deceives Rohit who finds a thick edge for a boundary. By bowling short to Rohit, Bangladesh are letting him settle. Any batsman who is short on confidence always finds it hard to play on the front foot. And now a warning! If Rohit settles in, Bangladesh are going to be in big trouble. Hider hurls it full to Dhawan and the lefty tees off over his head to get a four. India 49/0 in 6 overs. 

Fifth over, fifth bowler. Mehedi Hasan Miraz in now. Bangladesh's best bowler by any standards. You just can't afford to be predictable in T20. Fiz paid for being one but had he bowled with a slightly old ball, the cutter would have gotten the treatment. Meanwhile, Rohit attacks Mehedi. Plants his left leg and slog sweeps for a six into the stands. A three to end the over. India 38/0 in 5 overs. 

Bangladesh go back to the main bowler. Mustafizur Rehman. But I understand Mahmudullah's plan to having held Fiz with the new ball. He would be much effective with the old ball as his cutters will grip the surface better. With the new ball, he has to hit the deck hard, no matter what. And that has been a problem with Bangladesh. The bowling hasn't jelled properly. But Fiz is keeping it tight and accurate, mixing his length well. So far, he has just given three runs. When it is most expected that Bangladesh would end the over well, they falter. This time, Fizz is pummelled by Dhawan, who picked his cutter the moment it released of his hand. India get nine off it. India 27/0 4 overs. 

Rubel Hossain brought in. This is a swift change by Mahmudullah. The T20 format is so unpredictable that regular changes seem to be the order of the day. Playing just six balls of a particular bowler, the batsmen have to face a new bowler. But just a hint for Hossain. Bowl up to Rohit as he will be looking to clear the infield. Oh!! they take the hint and execute it on Rohit. Rohit falls in the trap but survives. Hossain through ends the over conceding a boundary. Dhawan collects his second boundary through cover. India 18/0 in 3 overs. 

Nazmul now with the new ball. Starts well with a flighted delivery but drops a yard thought the next. Rohit rocks back and pulls in between mid-on and mid-wicket for a boundary. But there is spin on offer, with the new ball. He manages to bowl decent three bowls after the four. Poor bowling to end the over as Dhawan paddlesNazmul for another four down the fine-leg fence. The spinner doesn't look confident enough. India will be happy as they are 11/0 in 2 overs. 

We have kicked off. Mustafizur to start. No No. This is the new guy. Left-arm. The name is Abu-Hider Rony. He begins round the wicket and there is prodigious swing on the second ball. He certainly is a little different from the rest as he has no qualms in going around the wicket. India cautious or dare I say Rohit starts cautiously. Hider caps off a good over. India 2/0 in 1 over.  

It will be interesting to see how Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma operate in the first six overs. India haven't had a spectacular powerplay throughout the series. They had lost to Sri Lanka in the opener because they had an average score in the first six. But with Bangladesh capable or pulling off big chases, it will be imperative for India to fly off the blocks. No denying the fact, that had India been defending 214 the other day, Bangladesh could have struggled as India's bowling is much better than their Lankans counterparts. Still, to be safe, it is better that India target the powerplay with a clinical yet dominating approach. 

Toss Update: Bangladesh win the toss and elect to bowl first. He says wicket looks dry and spinners will come into play. With chasing becoming a norm here, the reason could be the pitch which eases during the evening. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, says even they are batting first, it is an opportunity to set up a good total considering if they are put in first in the final.