Team India, on Sunday (October 6), thrashed Bangladesh by seven wickets in the first T20I to take the lead in the three-match series.
Chasing a modest total of 128 runs, India crossed the finish line in 12th place. The Men in Blue got off to a shaky start when Abhishek Sharma was bowled out in the second over after scoring 16 runs off just 7 balls. However, Sanju Samson and captain Suryakumar Yadav steadied the ship with a 40-run stand for the second wicket.
The two departed in quick succession, which saw India reduce to 80 for 3 from 65/1. However, debutants Nitish Reddy and Hardik Pandya did not let Bangladesh capitalize on their two breakthroughs. They shared an unbeaten 52-run stand to take India home with utmost ease.
Early in the game, Bangladesh were bowled out for 127 runs after being asked to bat first. Arshdeep Singh gave India a solid start by dismissing opener Litton Das in the first over and India remained on top for the rest of the game.
Bangladesh also lost the wicket of their other opener, Parvez Hossain Emon, before the end of the powerplay. At one point, they were reeling at 57 for 5. At that point, even the 100-run mark seemed like a distant dream for the Tigers.
However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored an unbeaten 35 and shared a couple of useful partnerships with the lower order bowlers to take his team to a total of over 120. For India, Arshdeep and Varun Chakravarthy were the pick of the bowlers , as they took three wickets each.
There are always areas to improve: Suryakumar Yadav
Speaking at the end of the game, Suryakumar Yadav expressed his happiness that his teammates were able to execute the plans. He said he and his teammates just wanted to support his abilities and it paid off.
Suryakumar Yadav also said that having too many bowling options is a “good headache”. At the same time, the Indian captain made it clear that he is not getting carried away with victory and stressed that there is always room for improvement.
“We just tried to back our skills and what we decided in our team meetings, it worked. The way the guys showed character playing on a new wicket and the way we batted, it was great. It’s a good headache to have when there is in the field about who to bowl.
“Every time you get an extra option, it’s a good thing. You learn something new in every new game. There are always some areas to improve on, we will sit down and talk about it in the next game,” Suryakumar Yadav said.
The high-flying Indian team will now look to win the second T20I and take an unassailable lead in the three-match series. The second match of the series is scheduled for Wednesday (October 9) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.