India hammered Bangladesh by 62 runs in their only warm-up match ahead of the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. Playing at the Nassau County International Stadium on Saturday, 1 June, where India will play the majority of their group stage matches – the Men in Blue crushed Bangladesh with a complete effort. Bangladesh batters were found wanting against the strong Indian bowling line-up and were restricted to just 120 runs after playing out their 20 overs.
Having opted to bat first in an unknown pitch in New York, India blew hot and cold with the bat but gave enough signs for the fans to be excited for this T20 World Cup campaign. Despite struggling with the pace of the pitch throughout the match, India managed to score 182 runs in the first innings putting Bangladesh in a really tough spot. Rishabh Pant was promoted to No. 3 position, where he did exceedingly well, hitting a rapid half-century. Apart from Pant, Hardik Pandya looked to be back in his groove, remaining unbeaten at 40 runs off just 23 balls. India put up a total of 182 runs on the tricky surface and eventually won the match by 62 runs.
India vs Bangladesh: Warm-up Game Highlights
Rohit-Samson Open
India captain Rohit Sharma and RR’s captain in the IPL – Sanju Samson – opened with the bat on the day. Both batters found it difficult to get going and Samson was the first one to depart after scoring just 1 run from 6 balls. Rohit Sharma also struggled for the majority of his innings but was able to get away with 23 off 19 balls due to a couple of big hits.
The combination might indicate India’s willingness to open with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the tournament as Yashasvi Jaiswal was not given a chance on the day. After Sanju dismissal, Rishabh Pant walked into the crease and slammed his way to a 32-ball 53 runs. Pant made it look like he was batting on a completely different pitch and retired right after completing his half century.
Shivam Dube Struggles, Pandya Finds Form
After Pant retired, India were stuck in a rut, with the batters failing to hit big shots. To be fair to them, the pitch was two-paced and hitting shots was not easy at the start of the innings. However, Shivam Dube made himself look really bat, failing to land some of his shots even outside the 30-yard-circle. However, India found a saviour in Hardik Pandya, who found his range at the right time.
Pandya remained unbeaten at 40 off 23 balls and was India’s second-best batter on the day.
Fast Bowlers Hit the Ground Running
India pacers set the tone in the powerplay with Arshdeep Singh picking early wickets. Arshdeep bowled two overs in the powerplay, gave away 3 runs and picked 2 wickets. He was ably supported by Mohammed Siraj, who bowled one over, gave away 2 runs and picked one wicket.
With Bangladesh down at 27/3 after 6 it was always going to be difficult to chase down 183, and they were put in further trouble as they lost two more wickets by the 9th over of the game.
The game slowed down after that, as the Bangladesh batters found it difficult to score runs. Bangladesh lost another flurry of wickets in the final overs of the match, losing 4 wickets in the final three overs of the match. Bangladesh finished with 121 for the loss of 9 wickets, losing the game by 63 runs.