On Saturday night at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Saif Hassan brought up his highest T20I score, his 61 the cornerstone of Bangladesh’s four-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in their first Super Four game of the Asia Cup.
Three nights later, Saif topped that with a chancy 69, riding his luck as India’s butter-fingered catching bailed him out four times. But even that wasn’t enough as defending champions India sealed their place in Sunday’s final with a comfortable 41-run win that was again set up by Abhishek Sharma.
India limped to 168 for six after a breakneck first 11 overs, then dropped a half-dozen catches but were still good enough to keep Bangladesh down to 127 all out to register their fifth win of the tournament.
Bangladesh’s Saif Hassan, en route his 69 off 51 balls
India made a hash of another fabulous start provided by the incandescent left-hander, who batted as if on a shirtfront even as everyone else around him struggled for timing. After a quiet beginning that brought only 17 in the first three overs after Jaker Ali put India in, Abhishek opened out in the company of Shubman Gill, who again admired from the other end as his partner took the attack to the cleaners.
Following up on their 105-run stand against Pakistan, the duo added 77 in just 38 deliveries. Even after the fall of Gil and Shivam Dube, promoted to No. 3, India blasted away to reach 112 for two after 11 overs, Abhishek having brought up a second successive half-century in 25 deliveries, when the wheels came off spectacularly.
Run out after a mix-up with ball-watching skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek walked off to a splendid ovation but watched in consternation as India managed just 56 runs in the last nine overs, and even that because of Hardik Pandya’s breezy 38 to reach a total far less than ought to have been. Despite missing regular skipper Litton Das with a back injury, Bangladesh would have fancied their chances at the break on an admittedly slowish track, but they knew that against Jasprit Bumrah and India’s assortment of quality spinners, they had their work cut out.
Bumrah, not at his best in his three appearances, provided an early breakthrough with the scalp of Tanzid Hasan in the second over, but Saif was in his elements. He batted with freedom even as the others tried in vain to keep pace or company. He was undeterred by the fall of the wickets around him until Axar Patel, who was lashed for four sixes by the right-hander, finally had his say when he held him at long-on off Bumrah.
Once again, India were brilliantly served by Kuldeep Yadav, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker who bowled superbly with the match poised delicately, but it shouldn’t have reached that stage, given the pyrotechnics of Abhishek. Striking the ball crisply, he hammered Mohammad Saifuddin for four fours in the sixth over, his whole innings a highlights package as he extended his stay at the top of the run-scoring charts.
248
Total number of runs scored by Abhishek Sharma in five matches of the ongoing Asia Cup, the most by any player
Brief scores
India 168-6 in 20 overs (A Sharma 75, H Pandya 38; R Hossain 2-27) beat Bangladesh 127 all out in 19.3 overs (S Hassan 69; K Yadav 3-18, J Bumrah 2-18, V Chakravarthy 2-29) by 41 runs