The packed crowd at the Shere Bangla Stadium expected a lot from their tigers but Virender Sehwag played an innings full of vengeance and class to dispirit them and their team. The hot favorites, India breezed past Bangladesh in the opening match to ring alarm bells for other teams. Bangladesh, on the contrary should pacify themselves with the fact that it was simply not their day.
India left out destructive Suresh Raina in favor of consistent Virat Kohli while Bangladesh went in without Ashraful. Shakib Al Hasan opted to bat first after winning the toss in front of a buzzing crowd, keeping in view the dew factor but probably he forgot the Indian batting strength.
Sehwag hit the very first ball from Shafiul Islam for a crunching four through covers and then rounded off the over with a similar shot for four to signal his murderous intent. First couple of overs cost 12 runs each and then there was no stopping for the Indian batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar, who was looking set for a big one, was run out as a result of a horrible mix-up for just 28 runs. Then after a solid 83 run partnership, Gautam Gambhir too deserted Sehwag when Mahmudullah beautifully bowled him neck and crop for a run-a-ball 39. India had crossed the 100-run mark in the middle of the 15th over and 150 was reached in just 22.5 overs. Spinners initially made their mark by slowing down the run scoring but the fact that they could not get breakthroughs invalidated the initial impact they made. Sehwag and Kohli milked them easily despite the slowness of the wicket. They found boundaries regularly by using their feet as India raced to 200 in the 32nd over.
Sehwag brought up his 2nd WC hundred, first against Bangladesh, off 94 balls with 9 fours and a six. It was a relatively subdued innings by his standards, but then he changed to the usual mode as the batting powerplay (BPP) was taken after 34 overs. It was Shafiul Islam again who suffered Sehwag’s wrath. After hitting a ferocious four he hit him for a massive six to plunder 18 runs off his over. Both the batsmen looted 58 runs in the BPP. Kohli celebrated Sehwag’s 150 by carting Mahmudullah for a four and a six as Indians looked set for a massive total. At 301 after 42 overs, a total of 400 seemed possible with the power hitters like Yuvraj, Yusuf and Dhoni waiting in the wings.
Sehwag was on his way to break the highest individual score by a batsman, 188 by Gary Kirsten, in the world cup as well going on to emulate Tendulkar’s double hundred feat. But his desire to play 50 overs was dashed as he pulled a fullish Shakib delivery back onto his stumps. His superlative 175 came in 139 balls and included 14 fours and 5 sixes. Kohli, meanwhile, had silently closed in on his own hundred, his 5th in ODIs. He reached his hundred in the last over off just 83 balls that contained 8 fours and 2 sixes. By scoring century on his world cup debut, he justified his inclusion ahead of Raina in splendid fashion. India had batted Bangladesh out of the match by amassing 370 for 4, barring a humongous miracle. Shakib had the best bowling figures, 1 wicket for 61 runs. Bangladesh’s remote hopes of surpassing this score, which is the highest team total in a World Cup opener, rested mostly on Tamim Iqbal.
Indian bowlers Zaheer and in particular Sreesanth got some movement early on but could not get early breakthrough. It was Imrul Kayes not Tamim, who was the aggressor as he showed in the 5th over bowled by Sreesanth. After hitting him for two fours, he pulled him remorselessly on a free-hit the next ball for third successive boundary. His 4th four 2 balls later was a treat to watch which made the bowler so baffled that he gifted 5 wides down the leg side the next ball. This over cost India 24 runs and gave the crowd a new lease of life. At 51 for no loss after 5 overs, Bangladesh had the opportunity to unsettle Indian plans by continuing in the same mode but Kayes played one from Munaf onto his stumps to the utter disbelief of a roaring crowd. He looked good for his 34 (29 balls, 7 fours) but it was too short an innings to make an impact.
Departure of the aggressor and introduction of spin in the form of Harbhajan resulted in slowing down of the proceeding appreciably. Junaid Siddique hit a splendid off-the-hips six to show his intent but could not hit the ropes regularly. At the other end, an uncharacteristically subdued Tamim too was unable to overpower the bowlers. As a result asking rate rose rapidly. Junaid was out stumped off Harbhajan for 37 leaving the job to the captain, Shakib, himself. As the asking rate was above 9, Shakib decided to play aggressively so that a healthy run rate is maintained even if they lose, keeping the net run rate scenario in mind. Tamim who had hit a gorgeous bent-knee six off Yuvraj perished, much to the disappointment of the crowd. He consumed 86 balls and hit just 3 fours and one six for his 70, a good innings but not the one his team wanted under the circumstances.
Shakib brought 200 for his team in the 35th over by slashing a four off Munaf but after hitting a few more boundaries, he holed out to Harbhajan in the deep trying to hit Yusuf for a six. He made 55 in 50 balls with 5 fours. After his departure, Bangladesh’s lower order was dismantled by Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan. They finished at 283 for 9 after 50 overs, a good total otherwise but not enough when you are chasing 370.
India showed their mettle by walloping Bangladesh in the curtain-raiser, and are the team to beat in this World Cup. For Bangladesh nothing is lost too as they showed good batting form. If they lift their bowling, they can by handy in the remaining matches.
Match: India 370/4 (Sehwag 175, Kohli 100*; Shakib 1/61) beat Bangladesh 283/9 (Tamim 70, Shakib 55; Munaf 4/48) by 87 runs
Man of the Match: Virender Sehwag
Published in SportPulse.net
ReplyDelete- http://sportpulse.net/content/viru-declares-world-cup-open-459