India defeat Bangladesh by nine wickets: Kedar Jadhav's spell and other turning points from Champions Trophy semi-final

Jaideep Marar 23:12 15/06/2017
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  • Kedar Jadhav celebrates with teammates after dismissing Tamim Iqbal.

    JADHAV’S TWIN STRIKES

    Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim were taking a toll on the Indian bowling with their 123-run partnership. But more worrying for the Indians was the run-rate which was nearing six an over as Bangladesh were 150-plus for the loss of two wickets in the 27th over. Besides, the batsmen in the middle were Bangladesh’s most experienced and in-form.

    Indian captain Virat Kohli brought Kedar Jadhav into the attack in the hope that the part-time off-spinner would slow down the pace of run-making. But Jadhav ended up pulling out a rabbit out of his hat by dismissing both Tamim and Mushfiqur.

    The double blow pegged back Bangladesh so badly that they failed to recover from it and had to be content with a sub-300 total, which was far less than what they would have expected when the two Bangladeshis were going well.

    PANDYA’S NO-BALL

    Hardik Pandya was introduced into the bowling attack in the 13th over with Bangladesh labouring for runs. The Indian all-rounder was expected to maintain the tempo but he was all over the place. His second ball was a no-ball and Tamim offered up a catch off the subsequent free-hit.

    But it was the second no-ball, off the fifth delivery of the same over that hurt India the most. Tamim, who was struggling to get going, was bowled off an inside edge.

    In the resulting free-hit, the Bangladesh batsman smashed a boundary to the fence. It released the pressure as Pandya ended up conceding 14 runs in that over and Tamim was back in his elements.

    Hardik Pandya reacts after a no-ball cost him a wicket [Getty Images]

    Hardik Pandya reacts after a no-ball cost him a wicket.

    BHUVNESHWAR’S EARLY WICKETS

    Until the semi-final, Sabbir Rahman had not done anything significant in the tournament to attract attention. So when he took on the Indian bowlers smashing fours at will, it appeared Bangladesh had come out with a plan against their famed rivals. That too, even after Bangladesh had lost opener Soumya Sarkar in the first over.

    With all the focus on the prolific Tamim Iqbal, it seemed that Sabbir had slipped under the radar – cracking four fours to race to 19 off 13 balls. But that was when Indian pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah rose to the occasion – bowling 13 dot balls in a row.

    Bhuvneshwar then landed the sucker punch with a slower ball wide outside the off-stump and Sabbir, who had been denied runs, fell for it by hitting the ball straight into point fielder Ravindra Jadeja’s hands.

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