India won their opening match of the Asia Cup against Bangladesh by 6 wickets with 116 balls to spare! They have also got a bonus point from this cakewalk victory against Bangladesh who hardly put up any total on the board. It was a one-sided contest once Bangladesh got packed for a disappointing 167 inside 35 overs. Sehwag bagged dream figures of 4 for 6 in 2.5 overs to change the complexion of the match totally!
Bangladesh had started in a busy manner with runs coming in thick and fast before Tamim Iqbal sliced a catch to covers in the 3rd over. There was some consolidation after that through Imrul Kayes (37) and former Skipper Mohammad Ashraful (20). However, there was a mini middle order collapse for the Tigers and India did the finishing job superbly well for a change. With the pitch being a dry one, the ball was gripping the surface and jumping. The lovely breeze around the ground was helping the ball to drift and hold up in the air.
After a stifled spell from the duo of Harbhajan and Jadeja, Dhoni threw the ball to part time offies - Sehwag and Rohit Sharma to roll their arms over. Sehwag enjoyed his opportunity bagging four wickets including that of the spirited Mushfiqur Rahim (30).
India could have got the runs in quicktime but for the early loss of Sehwag caught behind in an attempted drive on the up. Sehwag's partner - Gautam Gambhir wasn't really fluent with his footwork and timing but stayed long enough to help himself to a 101-ball 82. Interestingly he got the Man of the Match award. It was Skipper MS Dhoni who finished the game with an unbeaten 38 from 45 balls which included a six.
Toss and Teams
Bangladesh have won the toss and elected to bat first in Match 2 of the Asia Cup against India at Dambulla. The conditions look to be cloudy and the ball could do a bit in the air for the swing bowlers. Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh Captain reckons that 240-260 would be the par score on what seems to be a dry pitch. MS Dhoni said that even he would have loved to bat first as the ball is predicted to dart around a lot in the second half of the match under lights.
Bangladesh : Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Mahmudullah, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shafiul Islam, Naeem Islam, Syed Rasel
India : Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra
