Kohli sets up a clinical win for India by Jinu Sabastian

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Ground:	Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Scorecard:	Bangladesh v India
Player:	Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, V Kohli
Event:	Idea Cup 2009/10

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DateLine: 11th January 2010

 

Virat Kohli continued to grab the opportunity granted to him with both hands as he cracked the second ton of his career to help India thump Bangladesh by six wickets. Chasing a modest total of 248 India made light work of the target as they chased it down with seven overs to spare.

 

Dhoni won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to field first as he did not want his bowlers to struggle with the dew. The Indian skipper gave the new ball to Sudeep Tyagi and S Sreesanth ahead of Ashish Nehra and the duo did let their captain down as they claimed two wickets inside five overs. Imrul Kayes (9, 8 balls, 2x4) could not contain himself as he after collecting three boundaries chipped one straight to Kohli at backward point while Ashraful (4, 9 balls, 1x4) after playing one reckless shot to third man decided to give Sreesanth the charge and played on via the pads.

 

Tamim Iqbal (17, 31 balls, 3x4) played a restrained knock as he along with Raqibul Hasan (28, 46 balls, 3x4) tried to consolidate the innings as the pair added 45 in 9.3 overs before the former fell. Nehra pitched one upto Tamim who could not contain himself as he drove uppishly to mid-off where Tyagi took an excellent catch running to his left while Raqibul was then run out as Yuvraj cleverly managed to deflect a Shakib drive back onto the stumps. Mushfiqur Rahim (7, 18 balls, 1x4) lobbed a slower one from Yuvraj straight to Raina at covers to leave the side in disarray with half the overs remaining.

 

It was at that time that Shakib was joined at the crease by Mahmudullah and the two set about repairing the innings. The pair at the beginning of their partnership did not find run scoring easy as the spinners Yuvraj and Jadeja bowled a tight line and length to keep both the batsmen quiet. But the pair did not let that get to their nerves as they were content to play themselves in. Shakib survived a sharp chance when Dhoni was unable to latch onto one that took the outside edge. That sort of shook up Shakib who suddenly opened up.

 

A huge six over midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja started the acceleration as he along with Mahmudullah shifted the gears to take the Indians by surprise. Shakib employed the pull shot effectively as he twice pulled Tyagi in the direction between the square leg and long on before playing a cheeky paddle over fine-leg to take the partnership beyond the hundred run partnership. With a well-deserved century in sight Shakib (85, 97 balls, 8x4, 1x6)tried to paddle a slower one from Nehra but could only sky it to Dhoni behind the stumps. He along with Mahmudullah added 106 in 21.2 overs as the duo put the innings back on track. Mahmudullah (64, 80 balls, 5x4, 1x6) and Naeem Islam (22, 14 balls, 2x4, 1x6) then continued the good work as they added 46 in 4.4 overs as Bangladesh reached a competitive total of 247 in their 50 overs.

 

India in reply got off to a steady start as Dinesh Karthik (34, 39 balls, 3x4, 1x6) and Gautam Gambhir (41, 46 balls, 5x4) put on 64 in 11.5 overs. The pair was rarely troubled by the Bangladesh bowlers as the Indian openers prospered. Karthik even managed to put Razzak over midwicket for a maximum before he under-edged Shafiul to the keeper. Gambhir was the next to go when he missed a straighter one from Naeem Islam only to be cleaned up. Yuvraj (13, 25 balls, 1x4) never looked at ease in the middle but he was willing to fight it out in the middle before Naeem had him playing down the wrong line to be trapped in front. Kohli meanwhile got past his fifty run mark in almost run a ball without playing a single shot in anger.

 

He was joined in the middle by his skipper Dhoni (32, 35 balls, 3x4) and the duo ran the Bangladeshi fielders ragged with some quick running. The pair added 68 in 12.3 overs as the Bangladeshi bowlers ran out of ideas. Dhoni survived a sharp run-out chance but he could not make most of the let-off as he slammed a Shakib delivery straight to Imrul Kayes at mid-on. Virat Kohli (102, 95 balls, 11x4) and Suresh Raina (18, 18 balls, 1x4) then added 48 in 6.5 overs to seal a facile win for the Indians