India opted to bowl after winning the toss against hosts Bangladesh, who were hoping to cause a major upset in the final by spoiling title favourites India’s preparations for the World Twenty20, which starts next week. The match was reduced to 15-over per side after a spell of thundershowers resulted in a two-hour delay to the start of the proceedings. The pitches in Mirpur had a little more juice than what we’re used to seeing in T20 cricket and that led to nearly every team losing two or more wickets in the first six overs. From 19 for 1, India had reached 48 for 1; the pressure was off, and the game had swung, decisively, as it turned out. However, Dhawan and Kohli soon settled in and got the chase under control.
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The 2007 T20 world champions were in fine form before entering the tournament as they had won all four group stages, which includes a victory over Bangladesh. Kohli smashed the other Shakib long hop to the fence as well.
Shikar Dhawan of India was declared man of the match for his sixty runs innings. The running between the two Delhi boys was fantastic, and they found a boundary each time they needed one, neither pace nor spin making a dent. Al Amin struck in the second over when a delivery moved a shade as Rohit tried to slash it. Soumya Sarkar at first slip made no mistake. Not after Dhoni had a say in the matter, though. He started with a straight drill off Ashish Nehra before going inside out against Hardik Pandya to start 14th over that was taken for 21.
He was duly supported by one-down Sabbir Rahman, who made 32 off 29 balls while Shakib Al Hasan hit 21 off just 16. His 6-ball innings comprised of 2 sixes and a four. India were expected to win against a side that, though vastly improved, are not yet the finished article in the shortest format.
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The match was delayed by two hours following the rain, after which Bangladesh was put into bat first. “Before getting into the world cup, if you see the performance, they will carry a lot of confidence and also it gives us some time to get into the groove”.
