St John's [Antigua], June 23 (ANI): Following the loss against India in their second Sper 8 fixture of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto lauded the right-arm seamer Tanzim Hasan Sakib after his brilliant performance with the ball in the match.
Sakib bagged two wickets in his spell of four overs where he conceded 32 runs. So far in the ongoing marquee event, the fast bowler has 11 wickets in six matches at an average of 10.27. He is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament.
India took one step ahead in their pursuit of semifinal qualification as they beat Bangladesh by 50 runs in their ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights clash at Antigua on Saturday, with Hardik Pandya's all-round show and a destructive spell by Kuldeep Yadav being the highlights.
India is at the top of the Group 1 points table with two wins in two games and will play second-placed Australia on June 24. Bangladesh, with two losses, is placed at the bottom and out of the semifinal race.
The opener asserted that the Bangladesh side didn't show the intent with the bat that was needed while chasing a mammoth total of 190 runs.
"We were thinking about 160-170 when we put them into bat, but they batted well so credit to them. I don't think that is an issue, the players are habituated to that. We did not show as much intent as we needed with the bat, when we were chasing 190, we needed to show more intent, especially in the first six. I try to contribute but need to finish the games. Tanzim Sakib in this tournament has done a great job and is happy for Rishad too, we have been looking for a good legspinner for a long time now," Shanto said in the post-match presentation.
Coming to the match, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field first. Openers skipper Rohit Sharma (23 in 11 balls, with three fours and a six) and Virat Kohli (37 in 28 balls, with a four and three sixes) put on an attacking 39-run opening stand. After early dismissals of the openers and Suryakumar Yadav (6), India was restricted to 77/3 in 8.3 overs. Then, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant (36 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes), Shivam Dube (34 in 24 balls, with three sixes) and Hardik Pandya (50* in 27 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) pushed India to 196/5 in their 20 overs.
Dube-Pandya had a fine 53-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib (2/32) and Rashid Hossain (2/43) were the top bowlers for Bangladesh.
In the run chase of 197, India took wickets at regular intervals. Though skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (40 in 32 balls, with a four and three sixes), Tanzid Hasan (29 in 31 balls, with four boundaries) and Rashid Hossain (24 in 10 balls, with a four and three sixes) put up a fight, it was not still not enough as India won by 50 runs, restricting Bangladesh to 146/8 in their 20 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav (3/19), Jasprit Bumrah (2/13) and Arshdeep Singh (2/30) were the top bowlers for India. Pandya also took a wicket.
Pandya secured a 'Player of the Match' award for his all-round show.
With two wins in two games and a game with Australia left to play on June 24, India has moved a step ahead in the race for the semifinals. With two losses, Bangladesh is out of contention for the semis. (ANI)
