Stat summary courtesy Deepu Narayanan:
~ India have now won seven out of seven T20Is they've played against Bangladesh
~ Rohit Sharma pipped Yuvraj Singh to hit the most number of sixes (75) for India in T20Is
~ Mushfiqur Rahim's 72 was the first ever half-century by a Bangladeshi against India in T20Is
~ Siraj has now conceded the most runs (131) after three T20Is, going past Adam Milne's 130
~ The 65-run stand between Mushfiqur and Sabbir was Bangladesh's best ever for the fifth-wicket
~ Karthik's 50 stumpings in T20s is fourth behind K Akmal (92), Dhoni (70) and Sangakkara (60)
(2/2): I just told Siraj to keep it simple (in the last over) and we knew that that was the way to contain them. They needed 28 runs and we knew that would happen only if they hit big. I asked him to bowl that back of a length ball because we found it tough to hit. From whatever I have seen of him he can do very well. He is a great talent, has all the capabilities of doing what a fast bowler has to do. He's coming back off a break and that's never easy. It wasn't a good game for him, but he has a lot of talent to come back hard.
Rohit Sharma, winning skipper and MoM (1/2): It was important for me to step up. Like I said at the toss I tried to take my time with the bat at the start and then play my shots later on. I felt we were 10-15 runs short with the bat at the end, but they bowled brilliantly at the death. Washington started brilliantly with the ball and his magical spell changed the game for us. The entire bowling unit too stuck to their plans and pulled it off for us. The wicket wasn't the usual wicket we've been playing on for the last week. It was gripping and was slow and hence difficult to play on the up and that is why I wanted to take my time. One set batsman had to bat and I knew a new batsman would find it tough. The partnership between Raina and me was key; he has been timing the ball brilliantly and that is great to see. Hope he can do it for us in the finals as well. [Praising Sundar] He is never afraid of flighting the ball, sets his own field and it says a lot about an individual. It allows me also to breathe easy and set the field accordingly. In the series we played against Sri Lanka in India, we saw that from him and today was no different.
Mahmudullah, losing skipper: The effort was there. A bit disappointed though; had someone stood up and made 20-30 quick runs it could have made a difference with Mushy. The chase was on, we needed a good flying start. But we lost wickets early and didn't get the momentum we needed. We also could have conceded 10 lesser runs and that could have made the difference. The plan was to take the pace off the ball and stick to your strengths as a bowler, but they didn't execute that well. Looking forward to the next game, the good thing is that we have a chance to prove ourselves and we need to do it.
Washington with his three too did his best to finish it off early. But Mushy had to take it deep. And he found India's weakest link, Siraj to go after. Some help from the other end would have been good. It's simple now, play better cricket and make it to Sunday. For now, let's wait .. the presentations are lined up.
22:21 local: Oh that 19th over. Five runs, completely against the flow of momentum, against Bangladesh's best finisher with moves ready to be unleashed and after being thwarted in his first spell, Thakur produces six dreamy balls. Those knuckle balls have never really been overexposed. But to be fair, for all the drama Mushfiq and Sabbir tried to create at the end, it was the powerplay that stole it from their grasp. That is if Rohit's blitz before that hadn't already. On a sluggish track and an outfield that has tired over the last week, 176 was always going to be beyond most sides.
Abu Hider Rony, right handed bat, comes to the crease
Siraj to Mehidy Hasan, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!
Right then .. 28 in the final over. Trust Mushy to pull these off
Conceding 40+ in most successive T20I innings:
4 Mpofu
3 Dernbach/Southee/Taylor/Boult/Siraj
Mohammed Siraj [2.0-0-24-0] is back into the attack
Deepu chips in with yet another stat:
Best 5th wicket stand for Bangladesh in T20Is:
65 Rahim - Sabbir, this match *
54 Rahim - Nasir Hossain v NZ, 2013
50 Mahmudullah - Nasir Hossain v NZ, 2012
50 Rahim - Nasir Hossain v SL, 2013
Mehidy Hasan, right handed bat, comes to the crease
SN Thakur to Sabbir Rahman, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!
Shardul Thakur [2.0-0-24-0] is back into the attack
57 off 24 CRAJ: 7.5 REQ: 14.25
Washington Sundar [3.0-0-18-3] is back into the attack
Vijay Shankar [3.0-0-21-0] is back into the attack
Shardul Thakur [1.0-0-19-0] is back into the attack
Requirement for the nagin dance -- 73 in 42
Yuzvendra Chahal [3.0-0-12-1] is back into the attack
Mohammed Siraj [1.0-0-8-0] is back into the attack
"Funny how a peach of a leg-break doesn't get you a wicket, but the follow-up half-tracker does. Only the latter makes it to the highlights package." - Yours truly, Rishi Roy.
Sabbir Rahman, right handed bat, comes to the crease
Chahal to Mahmudullah, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!
BREAKING: The required rate has just hit 10.00!
Vijay Shankar, right-arm medium, comes into the attack
The menacing dibbly-dobbler Vijay Shankar comes in...
Sundar is the youngest to take three wickets in an innings for India. PRE: Axar Patel (21y 178d) 3/17 v Zim, Harare, 2015
The powerplay is done and dusted, and they've scored at 8rpo. The problem is the 3 wickets...
Mahmudullah, right handed bat, comes to the crease
Washington Sundar to Tamim, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!
Yuzvendra Chahal, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack
Mushfiqur Rahim, right handed bat, comes to the crease
Washington Sundar to Soumya Sarkar, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!
Shardul Thakur, right-arm medium, comes into the attack
Soumya Sarkar, left handed bat, comes to the crease
Washington Sundar to Liton Das, THAT'S OUT!! Stumped!!
Sundar from the other end.
Tamim and Liton Das are at the crease. Tamim is on strike. Siraj will open the attack
It's all we've got for you. India are coming out on Sunday. Who's clearing the Friday barricade to join them there .. for now, this was Vineet Anantharaman bringing you all the action along with Pratyush Sinha, Abhinand Raghavendran, Rishi Roy and our ace scorer Naga. Ta ta!!