India's Yuvraj blows away Bangladesh
Yuvraj Singh's 18-ball 41 took the game away from Bangladesh
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Saturday, 06, Jun 2009 10:21
Some big-hitting from Yuvraj Singh proved the difference between India and Bangladesh as the World Twenty20 defending champions notched up an impressive opening win, writes inthenews.co.uk's Alex Stevenson at Trent Bridge.
India managed 180-5 from their 20 overs largely thanks to Yuvraj's big-hitting 41 from just 18 balls.
In reply Bangladesh began promisingly but faltered at the midway point. The steady loss of wickets prevented them posing a serious challenge in the final overs and they eventually finished with 155-8.
The outcome of the match was by no means certain for much of the game, however. Mohammad Ashraful's Tigers can take many positives from what was, until Pragyan Ojha came on to bowl in the ninth over of Bangladesh's innings, a competitive game.
The hordes of Indian supporters packed into Trent Bridge soon had something to cheer about as openers Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma set about building a solid platform.
Two boundaries came off the first over and more followed as the pair reached 41-0 after the innings' first quarter.
A six over the William Clarke stand, tipped over the boundary by a diving fielder, lay down a marker which others would follow.
But the openers slowed down the pace as the bowlers began to improve their accuracy.
After 13 off an over from Rubel Hossain the boundaries dried up, only punctuated by Rohit's removal for 36 from 23 balls in the eighth over. India reached 76-1 at the halfway point.
Apart from a Mahendra Singh Dhoni maximum over long-on the pressure continued to mount on India's batsmen, who were forced to settle for quickly taken singles.
Dhoni narrowly survived a run-out appeal shortly after the hundred was notched up before falling two overs later, clean bowled going for a massive slog for 26.
This was the moment when Yuvraj appeared at the crease to rescue India's total from mediocrity.
It began with a first for the game - a forward defensive. After Gambhir completed a solid 50, from 44 balls, Yuvraj opened up with a cut for four to take India to 121-2 after 16 overs.
The next over he stunned the Bangladeshis, in particular bowler Naeem Islam, by striking three near-identical sixes. After a straightforward single there was just time for Gambhir to offer a tame paddle to Shakib al-Hasan.
Yuvraj was not quite finished. In the next over, bowled by Rubel, he followed a fourth six over long-on with a neatly-timed sweep for four.
But with just 12 balls left another aerial blast over the bowler's head was not so sweetly timed, holing out at long-off.
It seemed as if his exit had come only moments after his arrival; somehow the big man had managed to fit in 41 runs, handing India the upper hand.
With little time left Raina struck a boundary before being clean bowled. Then, with the three balls left to wrap up the innings, incoming Irfan Pathan struck an effortless six clipped off his heels first ball, a boundary in the same area and a straightforward single.
Bangladesh faced a target far more imposing than they might have expected before Yuvraj's appearance. Nonetheless, after the brief break they set about the task of getting nine runs an over with relish.
Two fours came in the opening over by Tamim Iqbal before Junaid Siddique - the less well-known of the pair - opened his account with a pulled six off Irfan Pathan.
A series of quick singles followed, but in the third over Iqbal missed a big hit and was stumped by Dhoni.
Bangladesh's momentum was not immediately halted. Siddique continued to look dangerous as he struck another six in the fifth over, while the Tigers' skipper Ashraful contributed with a boundary of his own.
His dismissal from a good catch by Gambhir did dampen things, however. In their first five overs Bangladesh had hit 48; the next three saw just 15 runs on the board.
Harbhajan Singh, a favourite with the crowd, looked to be strangling the Bangladeshis further but a huge six from Siddique evened things up. Even as late as the eighth over a Bangladeshi victory looked plausible.
That all changed as Dhoni turned to spinner Ojha, however.
First ball saw Shakib al-Hasan fall after sending a ball straight into the air. After a close run-out chance the danger man, Siddique, also fell; he was caught in the deep by Harbhajan.
Just four runs followed in the latter's next over, reducing Bangladesh to 82-4 at the halfway point.
From here the game slipped away from the underdogs. The new pair at the crease seemed reluctant to chase down second runs when they were clearly available and it took 24 balls after Siddique's six for the next boundary to come.
Fourteen an over was the required run rate by the time 15 overs had passed.
Further maximums followed - an enormous straight strike off Ojha was a highlight - and Naeem managed two off the first two balls of the final over.
But these were merely consolation blows as the disciplined Indian side overcame their opposition.
"That's why we're the champions," the fans chanted.
Sterner tests will follow, but this was an assured performance by Dhoni's men.
Alex Stevenson
