Adelaide, Nov. 2 (IANS): India survived a Litton Das scare and rain interruption to go on top of Group 2 table with a tense five-run win over Bangladesh in their Super 12 match of Men's T20 World Cup at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.
After fifties from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli (64 not out) took India to a massive 184/6 in 20 overs, Bangladesh seemed to be cruising to the target with Das making a stunning 27-ball 60 as they reached 66 for no loss in the first seven overs.
But rain changed the equation to 151 in 16 overs. The rain break worked well in India's favour as Rahul's brilliant run-out of Das post rain break triggered a Bangladesh meltdown as they could make only 79 runs in the remaining nine overs, losing six wickets.
For India, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took two wickets each while Mohammed Shami had a scalp to his name while fielders took the catches well to keep the side on track for a spot in the semi-finals.
Liton's onslaught began with a sliced four past backward point off Arshdeep first ball of the match. He would take two more fours off the left-arm pacer in the second over via drives down the ground and through cover.
He then teared into Bhuvneshwar Kumar, pulling him for a six over deep mid-wicket before taking consecutive fours through off-side. Das brought out the shot of Bangladesh's innings when he scooped a six over his shoulder off Bhuvneshwar in the fifth over.
Shami was the next Indian bowler to be taken to the cleaners, as Das heaved him over backward square leg for four. He brought up fifty in 21 balls with a top-edge on the pull going over deep square leg fence and followed up with an inside-out loft over extra cover for second four in the final over of power-play.
When rain forced teams off the field, Bangladesh were 66/0 in seven overs, well ahead of the DLS par score of 49. As play resumed after 50 minutes of rain, India found immediate success as Rahul's smooth direct hit from deep mid-wicket caught Das short of his crease at non-striker's end.
Shanto hit a brace of boundaries, but holed out to long-on off Shami. Arshdeep made a double strike as Afif Hossain miscued a slog to mid-on running in from the deep and Shakib Al Hasan fell in similar fashion while trying to clear the short boundary.
Wickets continued to tumble for Bangladesh as top-edge on Yasir Ali's pull off Hardik Pandya was sliced to point and Mosaddek Hossain chopped on to his stumps. Though Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed hit six boundaries in the last three overs, including two in the final over, India managed to hold their nerve for a tight win.
The Netherlands, riding on a fine half-century from opener Max O'Dowd defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets with two overs to spare to end the African nation's hopes of qualifying for the semifinals in the ICC T20 World Cup at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.
With Craig Ervine's side dismissed for just 117 in 19.2 overs, there was little his bowlers could do when O'Dowd (52 from 47 balls) and Tom Cooper (32 from 29 balls) gave Netherlands a fine start. Though the Dutch were already not in contention for a semifinal berth, they queered the pitch for Zimbabwe, who, had they earned two points on Wednesday, would have made things even more interesting in Group 2.
Netherlands have produced several highlights in this tournament, but their efforts against Zimbabwe came close to being a complete performance thus far. Paul van Meekeren (3/29) and fellow seamer Bas de Leede (2/13) were the pick of the bowlers as Zimbabwe were all out from 117 in their final over, and their run chase was a mere procession as they found the victory target with ease.
O'Dowd and Cooper were the mainstays of the chase as they combined to put on 73 for the second wicket as the Netherlands eased to maiden win of the Super 12 stage.