India dished out a clinical performance against Bangladesh to make it four wins out of four attempts at the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. A sparkling hundred from Virat Kohli after yet another brisk start courtesy Rohit Sharma helped India sail to the target of 257 in 41.3 overs for a seven-wicket win and reclaim the top spot on the cricket world cup points table.
Kohli ended his wait for his first world cup century after 2015 in style, hitting a low full toss over midwicket for a six that also helped India overhaul the target with more than nine overs to spare. Shubman Gill scored his maiden world cup half-century, hitting 53 off 55.
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Each delivery leading up to Kohli’s 48th ODI hundred was a story in itself.
After 38.4 overs, Kohli had made 74 off 80 and India needed 26 runs to win with seven wickets in he bank. At the other end was KL Rahul, a batter who missed out on a century of his own after hitting the ball too well against Australia earlier in the tournament.
What followed next will divide you depending on which side of the fence you find yourself sitting on.
Kohli launched the next delivery, bowled by Hasan Mahmud, over long-on for a six and then took a single to keep the strike. So far so good.
The next over began with Kohli clubbing the first delivery towards midwicket for a four. The race for the century, from here, was truly on.
Now is when the drama began to unfold. Kohli punched the next to the fielder at covers and then refused to take a single off despite finding the gap at deep cover.
The crowd was quick to realise and the decibel levels at the venue went up by several notches.
The two dot balls were followed by Kohli clearing his front leg and hitting the ball over long-on for another biggie and thus entering into the 90s.
Despite a sloppy effort from a fielder that would have resulted in a single, Kohli didn’t take a single but retained the strike off the last to move to 92 off 88.
Kohli hogged the strike for the entirety of the next over, taking two doubles and a single. A wide did dampen the mood a little but Kohli had moved three runs closer but India now needing 2 runs to win.
Interestingly, Nasum fired the first delivery of the 42nd over down the leg-side with Kohli staying rooted to the crease. Umpire, surprisingly, didn’t call it a wide.
Kohli then belted the next over the boundary to bring the match to a blockbuster finish.
The stage for the facile win though was set by the bowlers.
Bangladesh, without their talisman Shakib Al Hasan, appeared ordinary in the field and it was only for a measured, solid start from their opening batters that they were able to post 256/8 after opting to bat first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
Bangladesh openers Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das added 93 runs, keeping the India new ball bowlers at bay. It was Kuldeep Yadav who provided the first breakthrough when he trapped half-centurion Tanzid LBW on 51.
Litton was solid but found little to no support from the other end as India started landing regular blows. From 93/0, Bangladesh slipped to 137/4 when Litton exited on 66.
Mushfiqur Rahim (38) and Towhid Hridoy (16) tried rebuilding and succeeded a bit before Shardul Thakur broke the stand on 42.
Mahmudullah (46 off 36) played a handy innings to push Bangladesh past the 250-run mark but on the pitch that was batting friendly, the total was never going to be threatening enough for an in-form India batting line-up.
Brief Scores: India 261/3 (Virat Kohli 103*, Shubman Gll 53*, Rohit Sharma 48; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 2/47) beat Bangladesh 256/8 (Litton Das 66, Tanzid Hasan 51; Ravindra Jadeja 2/38)
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