TimesofIndia.com in DUBAI: After the match vs Pakistan, India captain Suryakumar Yadav had called Abhishek Sharma “selfless” and pointed out one of his qualities — that he also knows how to score runs after the powerplay. “When he passes the powerplay, he can still bat the same way as he bats in the powerplay. But the way he analyses the situation post-powerplay, what is required of him, what bowlers are going to bowl, I think that’s a plus point for him,” Surya said. And all those traits were visible during his 37-ball 75 against Bangladesh on Wednesday at the Dubai International Stadium.Such was the impact of Abhishek’s knock that after he got out, India managed only 56 runs in the next 53 deliveries to post 168/6 after a blazing start.Chasing a par total on a sluggish surface, Bangladesh folded for 127, handing India a comprehensive 41-run win. With the victory, India cemented their place in the final, and the match between Bangladesh and Pakistan to be played on Thursday would end up becoming a virtual semifinal.After being put into bat, India had a slow start. Abhishek was tentative at the beginning as he looked a bit twitchy and too eager to get going. He was dropped on 7 by Bangladesh stand-in captain Jaker Ali behind the wicket. A calming word from Shubman Gill, who was looking in sumptuous form, eased Abhishek.Abhishek teed off with a streaky four off left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed’s bowling and Shubman kept finding boundaries from the other end.Abhishek, after a scrappy start, started to look like a million bucks. Nasum gave him width to free his arms, and the stylish southpaw launched it over long-on. In no time, he found his touch and timing. Mustafizur was sent over long-on as well with a straight bat and the over ended another six. After a slow start — 17 runs in the first three overs — Shubman and Abhishek added 38 runs in the next two.Abhishek continued his march with four boundaries off Saifuddin’s over as India ended the powerplay at 72 for 0.
Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain’s introduction brought some relief for Bangladesh. The lanky leggie got rid of Shubman Gill right after the field restrictions ended. Gill scored a breezy 19-ball 29. Shivam Dube, who was promoted to No. 3, true to India’s flexible middle-order approach to take on the spinners, failed again as Rishad struck once more.Abhishek, however, looked unstoppable. He reached his fifty in just 24 balls and launched Rishad over deep mid-wicket for a six. He rotated the strike with captain Suryakumar Yadav and his fifth six brought India’s 100 in just 10.1 overs.Abhishek looked all set to score the first century of the tournament before captain Suryakumar Yadav sold him out. Suryakumar played a cut shot towards backward point where Rishad Hossain stopped it with a dive. Abhishek was off for a single but was sent back by Surya after making an early call. Rishad fired down a flat throw at the bowler’s end and Mustafizur whipped off the bails, and even a diving effort couldn’t save India.All of a sudden, India looked in trouble. Suryakumar Yadav’s scratchy knock of 5 (11) came to an end as Jaker Ali completed a good diving catch to his left. Tanzim Hasan, who bowled excellently up front, dismissed Tilak Varma, whose wild slog was caught by Saif Hassan.With five wickets down, it looked like India were losing the plot, but the experienced campaigner Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel steadied the ship. It was Hardik who did the heavy lifting with his crisp knock of 38, as Axar was not able to connect the ball. India finished 168 for 6.From 100 for 1 in 10.1 overs, the unnecessary tinkering with the batting cost India massively as they let at least 40 runs slip away in the middle. Interestingly, Sanju Samson, who was tipped as India’s No. 5, didn’t even come out to bat as he was demoted to No. 8.Rishad Hossain (2/27) was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh, but surprisingly he didn’t finish his quota of overs.Clinical with the ball, sloppy in the fieldAlthough India dropped five catches — all of Saif Hassan’s — their bowlers produced a clinical display to dismantle Bangladesh’s batting line-up. Bangladesh’s troubles began early when Bumrah dismissed Tanzid Hasan for 1 in the second over. The left-hander closed the bat face too early, and the leading edge was safely pouched by Shivam Dube at mid-on.Kuldeep Yadav then struck with just his second delivery, sending Parvez Hossain Emon back for 21. Attempting another sweep, Parvez mistimed his shot and Abhishek Sharma held on to a comfortable catch at deep square leg.
Axar Patel added to Bangladesh’s woes by dismissing Towhid Hridoy for 7. After hitting a six earlier in the over, Hridoy attempted another big shot but miscued it high towards long-on, where Abhishek Sharma completed the catch.Varun Chakaravarthy further tightened the screws. First, he bowled Shamim Hossain for a duck with a straight delivery that crashed into leg stump. Then, moments later, a sharp piece of fielding from Suryakumar Yadav sent Jaker Ali packing. Saif Hassan tapped the ball to cover and called for a quick single, but Suryakumar Yadav’s diving stop and underarm direct hit caught Jaker Ali (4) well short of his ground.Saif Hassan fought a lone battle but ran out of partners at the other end. He scored a feisty 69 off 51 balls and was the ninth man to get out. Only three other Bangladesh batters crossed double figures.For India, Kuldeep Yadav (3/18), Varun Chakaravarthy (2/29) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) shared the spoils.
