Rain Gods interrupt play in a positive way for Team India to wreck Bangladesh in a thriller at the Adelaide Oval in T20 World Cup
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Call it karma, call it redemption, or call it luck with Team India. On Wednesday, the Men in Blue produced an against-all-odds kind of performance to turn the tables on the Bangladesh Tigers to go to the top of the Pool in the ICC T20 World Cup. The five-run win over Bangladesh was a heart-stopper that had all the trappings of a thriller.
Billions were praying that the weather should be clear in Adelaide so that play was possible. This was the second match of the day at the Adelaide Oval, in cold conditions. Yet, when India had put on 184 for six on the board, the general impression was Bangladesh would find it impossible to chase it.
What a change there was in the script as Litton Das lit up the arena with fireworks under arc lights. He was in blazing form, almost collaring the Indian attack, which had gone in with six bowlers. Then came the moment of Divine Intervention of sorts. Sharp showers held up play for almost half an hour. The overs had to be cut short and as per the revised target under the Duckworth-Lewis method, Bangladesh needed to score at almost two runs per ball.
Once play resumed, the conditions were very vastly different. The batting rhythm of the Bangladesh batters had been disturbed and the Indians were fired up. Mastering the situation was the key, where underfoot conditions were not perfect. Litton slipped once while running and Ashwin was showing all his guile bowling with a white, wet ball.
Related: WATCH: KL Rahul’s game-changing direct hit ends Litton Das’ fearless knock
India successfully defended their total against Bangladesh
The chase was on, in a climactic way. Then came that brilliant run-out effort from the man who atoned for his past sins. Yes, KL Rahul who had hammered a lusty half-century, produced an electrifying run-out. The throw was almost at the speed of lightning as he ran out Litton with a direct hit from beyond mid-wicket. It was a bizarre run out as Litton had been done in by the tricky ground conditions which were wet. The throw from Rahul dislodged the bails and momentum swung India’s way.
There was tension and anticipation in the air as India had broken the rhythm. The run-out was a catalyst as the Indian bowlers then showed great nerve and verve to flummox the rival batsmen. For his part, Rahul’s half-century and run-out he effected were brilliant. Yet, none can forget that India once again owed a big thanks to Virat Kohli for his effervescent and effulgent batting, when he scored 66 of 44 balls.
Indeed, Kohli was the Lord and Master as he surveyed and purveyed the field with an innings worth its weight in gold. It fetched him the man of the match award. When Kohli spoke after the match, he was smiling from ear to ear. Such emotions from him have not been seen too often in the last two years. Call it a new version or a man at peace with himself, Kohli is batting with the ease of an artist wielding the paint and brush on the canvas.
If Kohli, Rahul, and SKY — Surya Kumar Yadav — had fired for India, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik failed with the bat. Worse, DK fumbled and muffed two catches. Had it been another day, DK may have gotten a tongue-lashing from the skipper. The smell of victory was sweet and it had been fashioned by the brilliance of bowling from Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, and the man who is now the go-to-bowler in a death situation. Yes, left-arm lanky Sardar Arshdeep Singh bowled with coolness and composure as he churned out the medium-pace stuff. Mind you, this was the same man who was abused during the Asia Cup in the UAE. Today, he is the leading bowler in the pack with nine wickets.
This was a potent troika, Ashwin, Arshdeep and Pandya. They throttled the Bangladesh batting when they were chasing a revised target which was not easy. Perhaps, fired up by that Rahul run out, two superlative catches, one taken by Surya and the next by sub Deepak Hooda showed this was India’s day. It was chilly when the match ended, around 10:45 pm local time in Adelaide with the temperature around 10 degrees Celsius. Maybe, Bangladesh were left, out in the cold. On this day, the rain gods rescued India in a different way. Yes, there was play, not rain-washing out action completely. Perhaps the raindrops were blessings from above for Team India, as it was the break that had altered the course of the contest.
The good thing is India are back to winning ways. This group/pool is poised interestingly and how South Africa plays against Pakistan on Thursday will be interesting to watch. Tonight, billions of Indian cricket fans can get a good night’s sleep. Say cheers to the heroes, Kohli, Rahul, Arshdeep, Ashwin, Pandya, and the catchers. Is there room for improvement? Definitely, yes. We need Rohit to fire and DK cannot be a ticketless traveler in this fascinating journey of the World Cup.
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)