India vs Bangladesh 1st T20I: The first of the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh was held yesterday, October 6, at the New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior. In yesterday's match, Suryakumar Yadav-led Nazmul Hossain Shanto-led Bangladesh team by seven wickets.
After winning the toss, India opted to field first against Bangladesh. During their innings, Bangladesh set a target of 128 runs. The batters struggled to make an impact and add runs. Openers Parvez Hossain Emom and Liton Das were dismissed by India's Arshdeep Singh for eight and four, respectively. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were the only batsmen who contributed significantly, scoring 27 off 25 balls and 35 off 32 balls, respectively.
Indian bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy took three wickets each, while Mayank Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Washington Sundar clinched one wicket each. Bangladesh were all out at 127 in 19.5 overs.
India's innings was bolstered by a valiant knock by Hardik Pandya, taking the team to victory in just 11.5 overs. Openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma scored 29 off 19 balls and 16 off 7 balls respectively.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav scored a remarkable 29 off 14 balls with two fours and three sixes. Nitish Kumar Reddy (16 not out) and Hardik Pandya (39 not out) also made important contributions to clinch victory for India. During the game, Pandya also played a no-look ramp shot that raced to the ropes and followed it with a slashed four, during which his bat flew towards square leg. He then sealed India's victory with a pull shot that earned him six runs.
Varun called it an emotional moment as he played for India after three years. "After three long years.. it was definitely emotional for me, and it feels nice to be back in the Blues, it feels like a rebirth. There have been many [challenges]. Once you are not in the Indian side, people tend to write you off very easily. You need to stay in the highest level, again and again you need to keep knocking the door. Thankfully, this time it happened and hopefully I can keep continuing my good work," Varun was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
"I just want to stick to the process because that's what I have been following in the IPL also. So I don't want to go over and beyond what's there right now. I just want to stay in the present. That's why I don't want to think too much or express too much," he added.
"We just tried to back our skills and what we decided in the team meeting, we just walked the talk. The way we batted showed our character," Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
He added, "You always learn something new playing every game. There will be a few areas to improve. We'll sit down and talk about it before the next game."
(With inputs from agencies)
