India couldn’t have asked for a better warm-up match as two of their middle-order batsmen — KL Rahul and MS Dhoni — slammed outstanding centuries before Kuldeep Yadav returned to form to help their team outclass Bangladesh by 95 runs at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Tuesday. At 88 for 3, Bangladesh had India on the back foot before a 164-run stand between Rahul and Dhoni took the game away for them. Rahul, who slammed 12 fours and four sixes in his 99-ball 108, has now more or less cemented that No. 4 spot. Meanwhile, Dhoni allowed Rahul to dominate at the start before taking the matters into his own hands. The wicketkeeper-batsman looked ruthless in his 78-ball 113 and smoked eight fours and seven maximums. India smashed 160 runs in the final 15 overs to end up with a score of 359 for 7 in their 50 overs.
In reply, Liton Das (73) and Mushfiqur Rahim (90) scored solid fifties before Kuldeep (3 for 47) got back to wicket taking ways and along with Yuzvendra Chahal (3 for 55) derailed Bangladesh’s chase, restricting them to 264 in 49.3 overs.
Earlier, Mustafizur Rahman and Mashrafe Mortaza kept it nice and tidy at the start and didn’t allow Indian openers to get going. It was Mustafizur who got the first breakthrough when he pinned Shikhar Dhawan right in front of the stumps for 1. His partner Rohit Sharma (19 off 42) too looked completely out of touch and eventually ended up dragging one back to the stumps. It was Virat Kohli who brought some momentum to the innings as he took the attack to Rubel Hossain. But the Indian captain had no answer to Mohammad Saifuddin’s out-of-the-blue yorker. Kohli crafted five fours in his 46-ball 47 before being castled while trying to whip one through the on side. Rahul was then joined by his challenger for No. 4 spot – Vijay Shankar (2), but the latter did no justice to his claim as he was caught behind while playing one away from his body, becoming Rubel’s second victim. With more than 30 overs to go, the scenario was perfect for Rahul and Dhoni to spend some time in the middle and that’s exactly what the two did. There was barrage of boundaries scored in the last 15 overs and in the process, Rahul completed his century.
In response, Liton and Soumya Sarkar got Bangladesh off to a decent start, adding 49 runs for the opening wicket. The two didn’t take any unnecessary risks and were going along nicely before Jasprit Bumrah struck. Having lost two wickets in as many deliveries, Liton and Mushfiqur first ensured there was no collapse and then started playing their shots once they were in.