India humble Bangladesh in T20I series opener to go 1-0 up

It was clinical domination from the Men in Blue as they brushed aside Bangladesh in what was a one-sided encounter at Gwalior. Starting the T20I series, the Indian men were on a mission and the visitors could do very little to offset their plans.

Winning the toss, India opted to bowl first and Arshdeep Singh was the first one to pry open the floodgates. The cataclysm for the visitors started with the fall of Liton Das (4) as he top edged the ball, and the catch was taken well by Rinku Singh at short cover. Not long after, another opener, Parvez Hossain Emon (8) was on his way back as Arshdeep Singh managed to produce a second.

Towhid Hridoy (12) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (27) did stitch an important partnership for the third wicket but it wasn’t enough. Varun Chakravarthy put Hridoy out of his misery while Mayank Yadav claimed his maiden international wicket as he got rid of Mahmudullah (1).

Jaker Ali (8) was left dumbfounded with an absolute peach from Varun Chakravarthy as the ball stormed through the gates. Shanto, the captain of Bangladesh, was the only one who stood tall but not for long as Washington Sundar’s change of pace left him foxed. From thereon, despite Bangladesh’s late fight with whatever they could pile up, the Indian bowlers mopped up the remainder of the resistance without breaking a sweat.

As Bangladesh was skittled out for 127, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy were the pick of the lot for India with six wickets between them. Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Mayank Yadav chipped in with one wicket apiece.

Coming out to bat, India meant business straight away as Abhishek Sharma (16) was off to a flyer despite a handful of edgy shots being played. A miscommunication with Sanju Samson cost him his wicket but that did very little to dampen the spirits of the Indian cricket team. Samson, joined by the Indian skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, started firing on all cylinders.

The duo added 40 runs in just 21 balls before Mustafizur Rahman got rid of SKY for a windy 29. Samson fell shortly thereafter for 29 but the ask was too less for the Indian batters to worry. An incoming Hardik Pandya cooked a blistering 39 off just 16 balls to blow away Bangladesh as India secured the bragging rights of the game within just 12 overs. Arshdeep Singh was the Player of the Match for his incredible start that left Bangladesh off their hook.