Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli milked a persevering but limited
Bangladesh attack to set India up for another big total in benign
conditions. Gautam Gambhir's early dismissal was the only thing
Bangladesh had going in their favour after Mushfiqur Rahim chose to bowl
again.
The hosts should have had Kohli first ball in the sixth over, when
Shafiul Islam struck him on the back leg in front of middle stump with
an incoming delivery, but umpire Paul Reiffel remained unmoved. Kohli's
form took over after that, and with Tendulkar batting as safely as he
does during some of his long Test innings, India motored along without
giving Bangladesh half a chance more.
As the partnership between the duo touched 100 at the halfway mark,
Bangladesh were looking flat in what is a must-win game for them. The
hosts had themselves to blame for allowing Tendulkar to settle with a
generous sprinkling of wide deliveries from their fast bowlers. His
first four scoring shots were all boundaries, as he cashed in on width
to drive and punch through the off side.
Shafiul did have Gambhir playing on off a forcing flat-footed drive, but
Kohli, with centuries in his last two innings, did not take long to get
going after his reprieve. The field hardly moved as he flicked and
cover-drove for fours in consecutive overs.
Spin was expected to be a major factor on a dry-looking pitch but
Tendulkar and Kohli negotiated Bangladesh's slow-bowling army without
any problems. The scoring rate did take a slight beating as singles
dominated but Tendulkar soon found the freedom to slog-sweep Shakib Al
Hasan for six over wide long-on. With his feet moving precisely now, he
made room to cart Shakib inside-out over extra cover to reach his first
international fifty in 13 innings.
As Kohli pummelled Nasir Hossain past extra cover, Bangladesh would
surely have had memories of the mammoth chase that India set them during
their last meeting, on this ground in the opening game of the 2011
World Cup.
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