ICC Champions Trophy: India thump Bangladesh to set up final showdown vs Pakistan

Birmingham: This is it. It is going to be a Super Sunday for cricket fans as India, who defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets at the Edgbaston in Birmingham on Thursday, set-up a mouthwatering final showdown with arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. Rohit Sharma (123*) scored his 11^th ODI ton as India chased down 265-run target with overs to spare.

The Virat Kohli-led unit was too hot to handle for Bangladesh, who failed to score a big total despite fifties from Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim and could only score 264 runs after being put in to bat.

After Shikhar Dhawan got out when India’s score was 87, Rohit and Kohli (96*) tormented the Bangladesh bowling attack during their unbeaten 178–run stand in 153 deliveries.

Earlier, Bangladesh failed to capitalise on 123–run partnership between Tamim Iqbal (70) and Mushfiqur Rahim (61) and could only score 264 runs for the loss of seven wickets.

The Mashrafe Mortaza-led side, who were cruising with 159/2 after 27.2 overs, were done in by the middle-order collapse at the hands of Kedar Jadhav (2/22) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/48). While Mortaza swung his bat to score unbeaten 30 off 25 balls, Bangladesh seemed to be 20-30 runs short of what could have been their ideal target on a wicket that did not have much in it for the bowlers.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/53) put India off to flying start in the overcast condition as he dismissed Soumya Sarkar (0) in the first over. While Sabbir Rahman (19) threw the kitchen sink and more and batted with gusto, he was done in as Bhuvi and Jasprit Bumrah (2/40) bowled a string of dot balls.

Tamim, who was sedate in the beginning, joined hands with Mushfiqur as the two mixed caution with aggression to dominate Indian bowling. Just when Tamim looked set for his second hundred of the ICC Champions Trophy, he was dismissed by Kedar Jadhav.

While a lot was expected from Shakib Al Hasan, Jadeja got the better of him as MS Dhoni took a sharp catch behind the stumps. Mushfiqur followed soon after as he made a mess of a Kedar Jadhav fulltoss and gave an easy catch to Virat Kohli.

India 265/1 from 40.1 overs:

This is it. India have completed a thumping 9-wicket win against Bangladesh to win the semifinal in style. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli shared an unbeaten 178-run stand in a chase that seemed like a stroll in the park. Defending champions India are in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 where they will face Pakistan.

India 224/1 from 35 overs:

Bangladesh cant do much about how Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are going about their business.

India 212/1 from 33 overs:

Hundred for Rohit Sharma! Second against Bangladesh, 11th overall in ODIs and first in ICC Champions Trophy. He looked in a fine form since the first ball today and he has not thrown it away. Fine fine knock this is.

India 188/1 from 30 overs:

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have completed 100-run partnership. Kohli has brought up his 3rd fifty in ICC Champions Trophy 2017. India moving closer to 200. Rohit 10 runs away from 100. Bangladesh in disarray.

India 164/1 from 25 overs:

India are cruising towards a big win as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bring up fifty-run partnership. The run-rate has gone up and the big shots are being hit at will. It won't be surprising if India wins this game with more than 10 overs to spare.

India 124/1 from 20 overs:

Rohit Sharma has brought up his third fifty in ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and Virat Kohli has looked in good touch as India continue to torment Bangladesh. 37 runs in the last 5 overs. Bangladesh are not able to control the free flow of runs.

India 87/1 from 15 overs:

WICKET! The opening partnership between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan is broken as Mortaza's slower delivery gets the better off Dhawan. Bangladesh needed a wicket and they have got one. Dhawan though had gone past Sourav Ganguly to become India's highest run-scorer in Champions Trophy.

India 63/0 from 10 overs:

Pull, cut, delicate touches, powerful punches; Rohit and Shikhar are having no trouble against the Bangladesh bowling attack. India are chipping away as the openers continue to score at a fair clip. Fifty-run partnership is completed; their third in this edition of the tournament as India look in a complete control to win this game.

India 31/0 from 5 overs:

There's no 'be watchful till the 10th over' approach as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are hitting fours at will to make sure India enjoy an aggressive start in chase of 265.

Bangladesh 264/7 from 50 overs:

Mashrafe Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed have made sure that Bangladesh did not lose any more wickets in the last 5 overs. But the two could only score 35 runs in that process. Bangladesh would not be too pleased with that total after being 159/2 at one stage of their innings. India need 265 runs to seal a place in the final.

Bangladesh 229/7 from 45 overs:

WICKET! Bumrah has disturbed the timber and Bangladesh innings continues to crumble. Mahmudullah dances down the track but fails to tackle Bumrah's full-length delivery.

Bangladesh 220/6 from 43 overs:

WICKET! Mosaddek Hossain departs. Jasprit Bumrah does the trick for India. Bangladesh 6 down as Mosaddek was caught and bowled by Bumrah. India dominating the show. Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza joins Mahmudullah in the middle.

Bangladesh 207/5 from 40 overs:

Mahmudullah must be thanking his stars as R Aswhin dropped him running in from third-man. However, Bangladesh are not yet out of danger and the onus will be on Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain as Bangladesh look to put up a big total on board.

Bangladesh 183/5 from 36 overs:

WICKET! Kedar Jadhav is making merry as Bangladesh implode. Mushfiqur Rahim looks absolutely gutted with the dismissal. Virat Kohli looks delighted, Tamim first, Mushfiqur now, Kedar is having a brilliant day.

Bangladesh 179/4 from 35 overs:

WICKET! It's that man MS Dhoni again. Shakib Al Hasan looks to cut one off Jadeja's bowling. Edges it and Dhoni once again shows why he is one of the best going around.

Bangladesh 164/3 from 30 overs:

Tamim is replaced by the experienced campaigner Shakib Al Hasan as Bangladesh look to push India on the backfoot. Will they succeed as India look to push down some tight overs?

Bangladesh 154/3 from 28 overs:

WICKET! Outta nowhere! Tamim Iqbal looks to hit Kedar Jadhav out of the stadium. He bends a bit to slog it over the leg-side. Misses. The ball hits the timber. MS Dhoni is ecstatic, Kedar Jadhav is over the moon. Tamim is aghast. Bangladesh 3 down. India get a much needed breakthrough.

Bangladesh 142/2 from 25 overs:

Fifty-up Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahman are leading Bangladesh's charge as India are struggling to contain the free flow of runs. Tamim took his time to settle in but he is looking in a fine touch as Bangladesh look to put up a big total on the board.

Bangladesh 105/2 from 20 overs:

Tamim Iqbal has played a stellar innings on the face of adversity, here. Both him and Mushfiqur have brought some stability back to the Bangladesh innings, after the two early wickets.

Bangladesh 71/2 after 15 overs:

India could have had their third wicket had Hardik Pandya kept his left foot in check and did not ball a no-ball. Tamim Iqbal would not mind this though as he looks to break the shackles and disallow India to push Bangladesh on the backfoot.

Bangladesh 46/2 after 10 overs:

Tamim has been sedate to say the least but his batting partners have been more than willing to play their shots. Mushfiqur Rahim, like Sabbir Rahman, is doing the same as he hits three fours - one streaky and two crisp in his brief stay in the middle.

Bangladesh 31/2 after 7 overs:

WICKET! String of dot balls has done wonders for India as Sabbir Rahman's patience runs out and Ravindra Jadeja takes an easy catch at the point region after Sabbir plays a 'let me get out of pressure' shot. Bangladesh 2 down. Bhuvi has his man. Virat Kohli is pumped up.

Bangladesh 31/1 after 5 overs:

Sabbir Rahman has come out with a lot of intent and he is smashing Indian pacer around the park with absolute ease. Dance down the track, fast hands through the offsides and some crunching shots, Sabbir is not allowing Indian bowlers to dominate the proceedings.

Bangladesh 1/1 after 1 over:

WICKET! Rattled! Bhuvneshwar Kumar disturbs the timber. India would be loving this kind of start. Soumya Sarkar tries to play one away from the boy and drags the ball onto the stumps. Those LED bails are in the air. India jubilant.

The start of the game was delayed due to drizzle.

India, who outplayed South Africa in their final group stage encounter, have retained the same playing XI while Bangladesh have made no changes to the team that trumped New Zealand.

The toss was delayed due to light showers but the rain has stopped and Indian bowlers would be keen to make the most of the overcast conditions.

Kohli, after electing to bowl, talked about the pitch and his decision to bowl first. "Looks like a fresh wicket, should stay the same throughout," said Kohli before adding, “And it's a bit overcast as well - that could play a big role."

Mashrafe Mortaza, who would have wanted to bowl first, said that his team won't be satisfied with a place in the semifinal and will want to go further.

"We want to go further, last two-three years we have improved a lot. 2015 World Cup also we went through (the group). This time it's time to go further," said the Bangladeshi skipper.

Preview:

The stage is set. Winner gets a shot at the title, loser goes home with pain of being so near yet so far as India take on Bangladesh in the second semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Edgbaston in Birmingham on Thursday.

The Virat Kohli-led side has its moments of anxiety as its final game in the group stage against South Africa became a do-or-die encounter following a shock defeat against Sri Lanka. However, Team India, who are the defending champions, held their nerve and thumped the AB de Villiers-led unit to seal a place in the semifinal.

Indian batsmen – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni – have put up their hands and contributed to team’s cause. India bowlers, who were taken to the cleaners on a flat track against Sri Lanka, have not done too badly at the either side of that defeat. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a standout performer, Jasprit Bumrah, in his first big tournament in England, has not done too badly.

What Kohli must be also pleased about is R Ashwin, who played against Proteas – his first game in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, and Ravindra Jadeja starting to work in tandem just at the right moment for India.

Indian fielding, which was below par in the games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has also upped its game as witnessed in the game against South Africa.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, are playing in their first semifinal at the ICC event. But in the recent past, they have shown the ability to up their game when it matters the most. One such example being their win against New Zealand which kept them in race for the semifinal before Australia’s defeat against England confirmed their place in the final four.

While Tamim Iqbal failed with the bat against the Kiwis, he has led Bangladesh’s charge in the other two games – against Australia and England. Shakib Al Hasan has done no harm to his stature as one of the finest all-rounders in modern-day cricket with a hundred against New Zealand with Mahmudullah scoring notching up his century from the other end.

Bangladesh though will be worried about their bowlers’ form. Mustafizur Rahman has not fired, skipper Masharafe Mortaza has not been in good form with the ball. The bright point for Bangladesh though is Mosaddek Hossain, who scalped 3 wickets, and Taskin Ahmed, who had 2 wickets in the game against New Zealand.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami.

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahaman, Mahmudullah Riyadh, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahaman, Taskin Ahmed, Mehedi Hossain Miraz, Mossadek Hossain, Sunzamul Islam, Shafiul Islam.