India sealed their place in the Asia Cup final on 24 September with a 41-run victory over Bangladesh in Dubai, overcoming a spirited fightback from the bowlers and a lone hand from Saif Hassan in the chase.
Saif Hassan kept attempting slog sweeps and lofted drives, sending the ball high into the Dubai International Cricket Stadium sky. But India’s fielders could not hold on. The right-hander was dropped four times on 40, 65, 66 and 69. On the fifth occasion, there was no escape. Trying to clear Jasprit Bumrah, he was caught at long-on by Axar Patel. That dismissal effectively extinguished Bangladesh’s faint hopes of victory.
Beyond Saif’s 69 from 51 balls, there was little to speak of in Bangladesh’s innings. Chasing 169, they folded for 127, losing with four balls still remaining. Their final hopes of making the final now rest on tomorrow’s result against Pakistan.
And yet, after doing the hard work of restricting India to 168, Bangladesh’s batting displayed the opposite face. Why was there no big innings from the top order beyond Saif? Even if no one else reached fifty, had one batter simply stood alongside him, the story might have been very different. Apart from Saif’s resistance and Parvez Hossain’s intent, the rest can be called to account.
From Towhid Hridoy to middle-order batter Rishad Hossain, everyone fell in single digits. Hridoy holed out trying to hit Axar, Shamim was bowled missing Varun Chakravarthy’s line, and captain Jaker Ali might consider himself unlucky. Suryakumar Yadav’s extra-cover drive struck the stumps at the non-striker’s end, running him out. Mohammad Saifuddin too had a chance to be the hero, but squandered it tamely. Offered a short ball from Varun, he lobbed a half-hearted shot to long-on, raising questions about his game sense.
Before the match, Bangladesh suffered the blow of losing Liton Das to injury. Jaker Ali stepped in as captain. Four changes were made to the XI, along with small shifts in the batting order. Opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim gifted his wicket cheaply before he could settle. Returning after two games out, Parvez Hossain Emon partnered Saif for a 42-run stand, scoring 21 from 19 balls.
Put in to bat, India’s opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill launched a storm. They piled on 72 runs in the Powerplay, 77 for the first wicket overall. The scale of their dominance is clear from the breakdown: just 17 came from the first three overs bowled by Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Nasum Ahmed. The next 18 deliveries, however, produced 55 runs, five fours and four sixes.
With both batters in such form, a score around 200 looked well within reach given India’s batting depth. But after the early onslaught, Bangladesh’s bowlers fought back superbly. In the middle overs, they took five wickets for 63 runs. Only one significant stand followed 29 off 18 balls between Abhishek and Suryakumar. By the end, India had been restricted to 168. It was a major achievement: in their last 53 balls, India scored just 56 runs for three wickets.
Rishad Hossain turned the momentum in the seventh over. Though he was struck for a four first ball, he dismissed Gill two deliveries later. Attempting a lofted shot off a fuller ball, Gill fell for 29, caught by Tanzim at long-off. Abhishek, meanwhile, brought up a 25-ball fifty with three sixes and four fours. Earlier, he had been reprieved on 1 when Tanzim’s outswinger found the edge, only for Jaker Ali to spill the catch diving at slip. Abhishek made full use of that life, eventually running himself out with a direct hit from Rishad to Mustafizur Rahman. He made 75 off 37, hitting five sixes and four fours.
Rishad struck again in his second over, removing Shivam Dube. Despite the big hitting around him, he bowled tightly overall.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav could not make it count either, falling to Mustafizur as his 150th T20I wicket, caught by Jaker. Tilak Varma was stifled early on by Tanzim, who gave away just 15 in his first three overs. He finished with figures of 1 for 28.
Saifuddin, who conceded 33 in his first three overs, bowled the final one. With Hardik Pandya on strike, many expected carnage. Instead, Saifuddin held his nerve, giving away only four runs and picking up a wicket to close India’s innings at 168.
