India defeats Bangladesh by 50 runs to qualify for semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup

India now has one foot in the semi-final of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup as the Men in Blue defeated Bangladesh by 50 runs on Saturday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda.

After winning the toss and choosing to field first, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto went with the ploy of deploying spinners from both ends. While Mahedi Hasan bowled an economical first over which ended with a four as the ball flew off Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s blade and dashed to the fence.

In the next over, Rohit swept Shakib Al Hasan for another four while Virat Kohli punished the former Bangladesh skipper for bowling in the slot with a huge maximum over the wide long-on area procuring a total of 15 runs from the second over of the innings.

After witnessing the treatment dished out by the Indian opening pair to spinners, Shanto turned to Tanzim Hasan Sakib who bowled a pretty good first over except the ball which was a touch fuller and Kohli flicked it to the mid-wicket region for another boundary.

Shakib continued from his end and Rohit started the fourth over with a huge maximum over long-on and cut the ball for a four when the left-arm spinner decided to bowl short. On the next ball, Rohit once again top-edged the ball but Jaker Ali got under the ball and pouched the catch safely to dismiss the Indian captain.

After another quiet over from Mahedi, Mustafizur Rahman was introduced into the bowling attack and Kohli didn’t spare the Chennai Super Kings fast bowler as well as he smashed him for a maximum over the cow corner for a 94-metre maximum.

Mahedi conceded only 3 runs from the 7th over before Rishad Hossain came in and conceded a maximum straight as an arrow on the first ball of the over before being smashed for a four by Rishabh Pant through the mid-wicket region on the last ball of the over.

Tanzim’s re-introduction meant an end for Kohli who was clean-bowled by a slower delivery which brought Suryakumar Yadav out in the middle. The Player of the Match from India’s last match against Afghanistan started with a maximum over the fine leg but was dismissed on the next ball as a short ball was his undoing with Litton Das pouching the ball in his mitts.

After two quick wickets, the Men in Blue slowed down a little procuring 6 runs off the 9 balls before the drinks break. Pant came back rechristened after the mini-break, dishing a cover drive for four runs on the first ball of the 11th over followed by a Pant special six on the third delivery over the mid-wicket region and a glance on the fifth ball which raced to the fence behind square.

After an expensive first over, Rishad was asked to bowl to Pant who smashed a one-handed maximum against the wrist-spinner followed by a sweep which helped the ball race to the fence. After an adventurous stint, Pant’s innings came to an end as the southpaw tried to reverse-sweep the ball but found Tanzim at short third-man.

With that wicket, the momentum once again shifted as Bangladesh bowled 16 consecutive deliveries without a boundary before Hardik Pandya decided to go after Mahedi and smashed the ball straight into the stands when the spinner offered width to the Indian vice-captain. Failing to learn the lesson, Mahedi once again bowled it wide and conceded a boundary.

After taking his time to settle in, Shivam Dube finally arrived at the party as he smashed Shakib over the cow corner for a maximum followed by a maximum against Tanzim who tried to outfox Dube with a slower ball but was hit straight down the ground.

Rishad bowled the 18th over of the innings and Dube welcomed him with a maximum over the deep mid-wicket region but was dismissed on the second delivery with the ball spinning and hitting the stumps.

Hardik Pandya won the Player of the Match award for his half-century

But, Hardik didn’t stop from the other end as he hit a maximum over long-on with Rishad conceding 15 runs from his over for the second time in the match. Tanzim bowled the penultimate over and conceded only one maximum, once again on a slower ball as Hardik nailed his shot over deep mid-wicket.

In the last over, Mustafizur conceded 18 runs with Pandya hitting three fours as the Indian vice-captain brought up his half-century within 27 balls powering India to a total of 196 runs.

Tanzid Hasan and Das opened the innings for the Bangla Tigers and while Tanzid procured three boundaries off Arshdeep Singh’s first two overs, Jasprit Bumrah maintained his form giving away only 2 runs in his first over.

Axar Patel was once again handed the ball in the powerplay overs and Tanzid continued to bag boundaries with a well-placed shot in the deep mid-wicket region while Litton also scored his first four of the innings as he swept the ball behind the square on the leg side.

Pandya was the next to be handed the bowling duties and Litton scored the first six of the innings with the ball flying over the mid-wicket region before getting caught on the very next ball as Suryakumar pouched the catch safely in his hands.

Bumrah was brought back into the bowling attack in the hope of bagging another wicket and the fast bowler almost delivered but Pant spilt Tanzid’s catch behind the stumps offering a reprieve to the opening batter.

After the powerplay overs, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav tightened the noose around the Tigers’ necks as the required rate climbed above 12 by the end of the 8th over. In the 9th over, Skipper Shanto pulled the bouncer bowled by Pandya for a maximum to end the 24-ball boundaryless streak and followed it up with another six later in the over that flew over the fine-leg region as well.

After starting positively, Tanzid’s innings was cut short by Kuldeep as the left-arm wrist-spinner trapped the opening batter Leg Before Wicket and an unsuccessful DRS call brought Towhid Hridoy out on the 22-yard patch.

Skipper Shanto kept the runs flowing after the drinks break as he slapped a short ball bowled by Jadeja for a four beating the deep extra-cover fielder. In the next over, Kuldeep struck yet again as he trapped Hridoy LBW and even used up the last available DRS call leaving the experienced trio of Shanto, Shakib, and Mahmudullah to achieve the target with the odds stacked against them.

From the other end, Jadeja continued to bowl poorly as Shanto punished another short delivery with a pull over the deep mid-wicket region awarding another maximum to Bangladesh. Shakib also joined the fun with a maximum down the wicket against Kuldeep but the in-form spinner got his revenge on the very next ball as Shakib sliced the ball high in the air and Rohit completed the catch easily inside the 30-yard circle.

Mahmudullah was the next batter and the No.6 got his first boundary of the innings off Pandya’s bowling with a cut that beat backward point and ran to the fence in a jiffy. Then, Bumrah’s re-introduction meant another wicket for India as skipper Shanto was caught at third-man by Arshdeep ending his innings at a score of 40 runs off 32 balls.

The new batter, Jaker, also lost his wicket early on as Arshdeep got his first wicket of the day courtesy of a catch by Kohli, running in from deep mid-wicket. Rishad, coming in to bat at No.8, smacked three maximums and a four in his first eight deliveries with Axar’s 18th over proving to be expensive for the Men in Blue.

After being at his explosive best against Arshdeep and Axar, Rishad couldn’t do much against Bumrah and found Rohit at extra cover ending his 24-run innings off 10 balls. 

Arshdeep bowled the last over and dismissed Mahmudullah on the penultimate delivery of the match with Axar doing well in the deep to run in and take the catch safely to dismiss the Bangladesh veteran to seal a 50-run win against their Asian counterparts.