The pre-winter T20I evening had a midsummer IPL-night feel in New Delhi as India piled up 221 for 9 on a six-lane expressway of a surface at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday. India would still feel that they missed out on a few runs, after a slow start in the powerplay, where they managed only 45. However, the total proved to be more than enough for Bangladesh as India won the match by 86 runs to take an 2-0 unassailable lead in the three-match series.
India’s template under the new regime has been the same, which helped them lift the T20 World Cup in Barbados. “Keep the strike rate up, don’t worry about the milestones,” former India coach Vikram Rathour had told The Indian Express on India’s batting mantra of going all out in the T20s after the Adelaide disaster in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
The 21-year old Nitish Reddy showed how to walk that talk by hammering 74 runs in 34 balls and then with the ball picked up 2 for 23. The right-hander smacked seven sixes, six off them were against the spinners. At one stage Reddy was 13 off 13 balls but shook off the jitters by muscling Mahmudullah over wide long-on for a six to open the floodgates.
Mayhem was unleashed from the 10th over. Anything in his arc went out of the park. Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain showed heart by tossing it up twice, and Reddy launched them both into the second tier — one straight over the sightscreen and the other over deep mid-wicket. Nitish found an able support from Rinku. In the final ball of the 10th over, Rinku pummelled a shortish ball over mid-wicket for a six as the leg-spinner bled 24 runs that over.
Maiden T20I Half-Century for Nitish Kumar Reddy 🔥🔥
Watch him hit two consecutive sixes off Rishad Hossain’s bowling!
Live – https://t.co/Otw9CpO67y…… #INDvBAN@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/jmq5Yt711n
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 9, 2024
It was Rinku who had started the flurry of six-hitting but once Nitish found his groove, he took over the all-out aggressor role. The best shot of the match came in the 11th over: Reddy walked across the stumps and waited before even Mustafizur had hit his bowling stride, and walloped the back-of-length ball over long-off.
His maiden international fifty came in 27 balls and toyed with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, slamming three sixes and one boundary in an over that leaked 26 runs. Against run of play, Nitish fell, foxed by a slower one from Mustafizur and the 42-ball 108-run stand for the fourth wicket was finally broken.
The six-hitting, though, didn’t stop with Reddy’s wicket.
Rinku Singh celebrates scoring his half-century during the 2nd India-Bangladesh T20I. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
Hardik Pandya tonked Rishad Hossain for a maximum over wide long-off. Rinku, who was playing the second fiddle, went into turbo mode against Tanzim Hasan Sakib and completed his third half-century with a half-century with a six in just 26 balls. Rinku’s enterprising knock was ended by Taskin Ahmed, who finished his spell with 4-0-16-2, while Pandya scored a quickfire 19-ball 32.
Riyan Parag provided the final flourish by pumping two back-to-back sixes off Tanzim Hasan Sakib. The six-fest didn’t end, as even the No. 10 Arshdeep Singh slogged Rishad Hossain for a six, triggering much amusement in the dugout.
The most fascinating aspect of India’s innings was that barring skipper Suryakumar Yadav (8 off 10), the strike rate of India’s top-seven was 135 plus. Reddy batted with a strike rate of 217.64, Rinku at 182.74, Pandya at 168.42 and Parag at 250. India completed their innings with 15 sixes, while Bangladesh managed only four.
Meek surrender
After the seven-wicket loss in the first T20I, captain Najmum Shanto had pointed out that his team are nowhere close to India when it comes to skill set and mentality.
“We play on 140-150 wickets at home. Our batters don’t know how to score 180 runs. I won’t blame just the wickets, but we have to consider skills and mentality,” he had said.
It was a similar story in Delhi as well as Bangladesh surrendered meekly again and could manage only 135 for 9.
Arshdeep struck again with the new ball to clean up Parvez Hossain Emon while Washington Sundar took out the captain. Varun Chakravarthy (2 for 19) continued the good work he started in Gwalior, knocking out Litton Das with a beauty. Part-timer Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag too chipped in with a wicket apiece. For Bangladesh, Mahmudullah top scored with 41, but any semblance of fight had long evaporated from the arena by then.
I’m Manas Ranjan Sahoo: Founder of “Webtirety Software”. I’m a Full-time Software Professional and an aspiring entrepreneur, dedicated to growing this platform as large as possible. I love to Write Blogs on Software, Mobile applications, Web Technology, eCommerce, SEO, and about My experience with Life.
