Asia Cup highlights: Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane anchor India to six-wicket win over Bangladesh

India began their Asia Cup campaign with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh. Catch all the highlights here (Scorecard | Text Commentary | Asia Cup Schedule | Match report)

09.48 (IST): Virat Kohli: Very happy with the way the team performed. We bowled well initially and there was improvement in the death overs. Not having MS Dhoni was a big factor but the guys showed what they are capable of. I always thank my dad when I play well and it's because of him. It was also very important for Ajinkya Rahane to get some time in the middle. He's a very hardworking guy.

 

09.44 (IST): Abdur Razzak: We thought we had enough runs but dew factor was the main problem for us.

09.40 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane: My plan was to take my time and play my shots later on. Wicket was not easy. Shot selection was very crucial. During the innings break, we were talking about partnerships and needed one big partnership. Virat asked me to hang around. He is batting so well. There is a lot to learn from him. Good win today but our focus is now on the next game against Sri Lanka. We want to take one game at a time.

 

09.32 (IST): Yet another match-winning ODI century for Virat Kohli. This time it has come at a time when he is leading the Indian side. India thus, begin with a good win over Bangladesh. As for Bangladesh are concerned, they should take heart from the way they batted and look to improve their performance on the field. There is still a lot to play in the tournament. Apart from Kohli's brilliance, Ajinkya Rahane's effort as the consolidator at the other end deserves as much praise, if not more. His knock of 73 adds weight to the fact that he is turning out to be a great option in the middl-order in ODIs.

09.30 (IST): Its all over! India have beaten Bangladesh by six wickets at Fatullah.

09.25 (IST): OUT! Rahane (73) departs, caught by sub (Kayes) off Sohag Gazi.India 272/4 in 47.3 overs.

 

09.19 (IST): OUT! Virat Kohli is gone! His splendid effort knock of 136 off 122 balls comes to an end as he is cleaned up by a Rubel Hossain yorker. India 267/3 in 45.4 overs.

09.10 (IST): India are cruising along here. Kohli (135 off 122 balls) seems to have orchestrated yet another successful run chase for India. India 262/2 in 45 overs.

08.55 (IST): Virat Kohli is clearly in a hurry here, slamming fours off Razzak and Hossain with ease. Rahane too, has played his trademark inside out shots over deep extra cover. India 244/2 in 43 overs, need 36 off 42 balls.

08.45 (IST): Benefit of doubt to Rahane! A catch at mid-wicket was referred to the TV umpire. Third umpire says not out. India 217/2 in 40 overs, still need 63 to win from 60 balls.

08.41 (IST): Fifty for Rahane! His 4th in ODIs. He gets it with a nicely-placed four to the fine leg fence. India 217/2 in 39.3 overs.

08.31 (IST): Virat Kohli slams 19th ODI ton! What a knock from the Indian skipper! He gets it in 95 balls. India 203/2 in 37.3 overs.

08.20 (IST): India reach 186/5 in 35 overs as the batting powerplay begins. India need 94 to win from 15 overs.

08.08 (IST): While Kohli is playing the role of the sheet anchor and has moved into the 80s, one must not ignore the crucial support that Rahane is providing here. If Kohli's has been an artist with the bat, Rahane has been an assembler of a jigsaw puzzle, slowly but steadily putting together the pieces. They have now added a run-a-ball stand of 121 for the third wicket. India 175/2 in 33 overs.

 

07.49 (IST): With Virat Kohli looking well settled, the boundaries are coming and slowly the momentum is changing hands. Bangladesh in desperate need of a wicket here. India 138/2 in 29 overs, need 142 runs to win from 126 balls.

07.38 (IST): The ball is still keeping low for the medium-pacer Ziaur Rahman. He is getting the ball to jack back into the right handers after pitching and can cause a bit of concern as the ball has shown the tendency to keep low at times.

07.35 (IST): Fifty for Virat Kohli! His 31st in ODIs. It has come in 48 balls. India 120/2 in 24.3 overs.

07.24 (IST): Virat Kohli smacks two back-to-back fours off Razzak -- both through extra cover-- as India reach 110/2 in 22 overs. India need 170 runs to win from 168 balls.

07.18 (IST): Right-arm off-spinner Sohag Gazi comes on and Virat Kohli clears his front leg and slams him for a six over deep square leg. Much needed runs for India. 95/2 in 20.1 overs.

 

07.05 (IST): Bangladesh have the upper hand in the game so far. They have restricted the Indians very well here. The wicket has slowed down drastically and the Bangladesh bowlers are generating variable bounce which has accounted for Rohit Sharma's wicket. Spinner Abdur Razzak too has put the brakes on the Indian scoring rate. The onus of performance is now on skipper Virat Kohli's shoulder. He will hope to get some support from the middle-order batsmen -- Rahane, Rayudu and Jadeja. India 67/2 in 16 overs.

06.49 (IST): OUT! Ziaur Rahman cleans up Rohit Sharma (21) with a ball that came back in sharply after pitching. India 54/2 in 12.5 overs

06.48 (IST): Virat Kohli walks out to bat! He has two 100s and two 50s against Bangladesh at an average of 123.3.

06.40 (IST): OUT! Dhawan is gone! Razzak gets his man this time as Billy Bowden rules in his favour for a big LBW shout. Dhawan walks back for 28. India 50/1 in 11.2 overs.

06.37 (IST): SIX! Rohit Sharma breaks the shackles by launching a ball from Mashrafe Mortaza straight back for a six. India 48/0 in 10.5 overs.

06.31 (IST): India reach 38/0 in 10 overs. It has been a slow, cautious start for Dhawan and Rohit but the wicket is slow and they seem happy to play patiently.

06.29 (IST): Spin comes into the attack and straightaway there is huge appeal for leg before against Dhawan. Billy Bowden shakes his head. Dhawan follows it up with an exquisitely timed boundary through extra cover. India 38/0 in 9.3 overs

06.23 (IST): Mortaza has a packed off-side field for the left-handed Dhawan who has the knack of playing a lot of aggressive strokes on the off-side.

06.20 (IST): India is moving along at a very slow pace here. While Dhawan has managed to find the boundary on a few occasions, the runs have been hard to come by otherwise. India 23/0 in 7.2 overs.

06.10 (IST): Four! Dhawan jumps down the track and drives the ball through cover. He gets off the mark with that shot. India 11/0 in 4.3 overs.

06.00 (IST): The ball is keeping low here and Mortaza is using the conditions perfectly by varying his pace and causing a bit of trouble for both Dhawan and Rohit. Even Rubel Hossain, who has been a little quicker, from the other end has hardly given any width away. India 1/0 in 3 overs.

05.50 (IST): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma begin India's chase of 280 vs Bangladesh.

 

05.01 (IST): End of the innings! Bangladesh have reached 279/7 in 50 overs vs India at Fatullah. A splendid century from skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (117) and a half-century from Anamul Haque (77) helped Bangladesh on their way.

04.50 (IST): OUT! Ziaur Rahman's attempt to play a cameo role comes to an end as Varun Aaron takes a good, diving catch to send him back. Aaron seems to have hurt his hamstring there, he was flinching in pain. He has now left the field. Bangladesh 270/6 in 48.5 overs.

04.49 (IST): Very good over for Bangladesh! They collect 14 runs from it. Bangladesh 264/5 in 48 overs.

04.40 (IST): OUT! Nasir Hossain is gone, caught behind off Mohammed Shami. Bangladesh 241/5 in 45.4 overs.

04.34 (IST): Century for Mushfiqur Rahim! He gets there off 105 balls! It's his second in ODIs. Bangladesh 241/4 in 45.1 overs.

04.25 (IST): WICKET! Naeem Islam is gone! He is caught by Ashwin at cover off Shami's bowling. Bangladesh 231/4 in 44 overs.

04.07 (IST): Beamer from Varun Aaron! That's the second of the innings from him. This one was bowled at 140 kmph and hit Mushfiqur near the rib cage. He apologises immediately but has been taken off. Bangladesh 213/3 in 41 overs.

 

04.05 (IST): Mushfiqur Rahim is leading Bangladesh's charge here. He has moved on to 80 off just 84 balls as he collects two fours -- first over point and next in front of point. In the penultimate ball of the over, Mushfiqur played a sensational flick over. A lot of bottom hand on that one as the ball sailed over deep square leg. It also brings up the 200 for Bangladesh. 202-3 in 38.5 overs.

 

03.57 (IST): OUT! Varun Aaron strikes! He bowls an attempted yorker and Anamul Haque plays the ball onto his stumps to depart for a well-made 77. Bangladesh 182/3 in 37 overs.

03.47 (IST): SIX! Mushfiqur slog sweeps Ravindra Jadeja, against the spin, over deep square leg for a six. Bangladesh 170/2 in 35.5 overs.

03.35 (IST): Fifty for skipper Mushfiqur Rahim! 14th in ODIs for him. It has come in 65 deliveries. Bangladesh 152/2 in 33 overs

03.29 (IST): Anamul Haque (57) and Mushfiqur Rahim (40) have taken Bangladesh to 137/2 in 30 overs.

03.18 (IST): FACTOID: The last time Anamul Haque scored in excess of 50 runs, he went on to score a ton. (against the West Indies in December 2012)

03.08 (IST): Fifty for Anamul Haque! He gets there in style with a straight six off Ashwin. His knock has come off 67 balls. Bangladesh 109/2 in 23 overs.

02.57 (IST): Anamul Haque is taking the fight to India! He comes down the track and pulls the short ball from Aaron over deep mid-wicket for a six and follows it up with an exceptionally-timed straight drive. Banlgadesh 95/2 in 19.5 overs.

02.41 (IST): Drastic change in Ashwin's action here. The start of his run-up looks a lot like West Indies bowler Sunil Narine and the finish too has undergone a clear change.

02.40 (IST): SIX! Anamul Haque whacks a 145 kmph delivery from Varun Aaron over long on. BAN 69/2 in 15.4 overs.

02.35 (IST): Bangladesh's struggle to score at a quick rate continues. They've lost the wicket of the one batsman who was looking to cut loose at every given opportunity. Bangladesh 60/2 in 15 overs.

02.26 (IST): OUT! Ravichandran Ashwin strikes first ball! Mominul Haque was clueless where the ball was going after he attempted a flick and ventured out of the crease. Dinesh Karthik was quick to dislodge the bails to send Mominul packing. Bangladesh 49/2 in 12.1 overs.

02.18 (IST): Mohammed Shami is off the field and receiving an ice-pack treatment on his knee. Seems like he hurt it while he collided with Rayudu while taking the catch to dismiss Shamsur.

02.16 (IST): A cautious start from Bangladesh so far. The Indian bowlers have given very little away so far. They've also managed to get their first breakthrough as Mohammed Shami dismissed Shamsur Rahman. Bangladesh 36/1 in 10 overs.

02.09 (IST): FACTOID: Bangladesh don't have a great record while defending a total against India in ODIs. They have successfully defended the total just once while losing 16 times.

02.07 (IST): Four! Mohammed Shami induces an edge of Mominul Haque's bat but there is no 1st slip. The ball runs away to the third man fence. Bangladesh 26/1 in 7.5 overs.

01.56 (IST): First breakthrough for India! Mohammed Shami gets rid of Shamsur Rahman! A leading edge ballooned off Shamsur's bat and Shami took the catch, despite a collision with fielder Ambati Rayudu. Bangladesh 16/1 in 5.1 overs.

01.53 (IST): Maiden over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He continues to rely on line and length and has nothing to give away. Nine runs have come off the three overs he has bowled so far. Bangladesh 16/0 in 5 overs.

01.43 (IST): Bangladesh have happy memories at Fatullah. In November 2013, they chased down New Zealand's daunting total of 308 to win the game. That day it was Shamsur Rahman and Naeem Islam who orchestrated the chase. Today, however, they have the tougher task of setting a good total for a side that has the reputation of chasing down big scores in the Sub-conitinent.

01.41 (IST): FOUR! A finely played cover drive from Shamshur Rahman there! He gets behind the Shami delivery and hits it through covers to pick up four runs. That will do his confidence a world of good. Bangladesh 8/0 in 1.2 overs.

01.32 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar starts the proceedings for India. He induces an outside edge off Anamul Haque's bat that goes between first and second slip and runs away to the third man fence. Those are the only runs of the over. Bangladesh 4/0 in 1 over.

01.17 (IST): Bangladesh XI: Shamshur Rahman, Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam, Ziaur Rahman, Sohag Gazi, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain

01.16 (IST): Indian XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron

01.11 (IST): FACTOID: With 971 runs at a striking average of 51.10, Sachin Tendulkar is the highest scorer for India in the Asia Cup. He is also second -- behind Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya -- in the list of all-time top-scorers of the tournament.

01.05 (IST): Indian skipper Virat Kohli wins toss, elects to field against Bangladesh . He says he watched the game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and feels the wicket will ease out in the second innings. The big news is the Cheteshwar Pujara continues to be on the bench.

12.54 (IST): Bangladesh begin their campaign without Shakib-al-Hasan who will miss the first two games due to a suspension.

12.40 (IST): India start afresh after back-to-back losses in South Africa and New Zealand. The familiar conditions make them strong favourites but hosts Bangladesh have the knack of being a thorn in India's flesh. In the last edition in 2012, Sachin Tendulkar scored a century, his 100th in international cricket, but Bangladesh chased down the total and even beat Sri Lanka to reach the finals.

 

 

PREVIEW

Embarrassed in South Africa and New Zealand, regional powerhouse India would hope for a turnaround under a new captain when they take on a troubled Bangladesh in their Asia Cup opener here on Wednesday. (We'll not take Bangladesh lightly, says Dinesh Karthik)

For the five-time champions India, the build up to the 12th edition of the regional tournament has been quite similar to that of 2012 when they landed here on the back of eight successive Test defeats in England and Australia.

Now they have come here after losing to South Africa 0-1 in Tests and 0-2 in ODIs. They suffered similar humiliation at the hands of New Zealand. The world champion side capped their two overseas tours with four successive defeats in ODIs.

However, playing against an opponent, who are struggling with their own set of problems and against whom they enjoy a good record, India would hope to finally notch up their first win in the 2014 calender.

Bangladesh's attacking opener Tamim Iqbal has been ruled out of the event because of a neck strain and their all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan will also miss the action against India due to his two-match ban for showing lewd gestures on live TV. (Read more)

Beating India is no longer an upset, says Mashrafe Mortaza

Bangladesh's premier pacer Mashrafe Mortaza on Tuesday said that beating a heavyweight Indian cricket team is no longer considered as an "upset" as the hosts have defeated them on a few occasions in the near past including the last edition of Asia Cup. "I don't count a win against India as an upset. We have done it before. They are a good team in sub-continent. We have that in our mind," the 30-year-old said ahead of their Asia Cup opener against India on Wednesday. (Read more)

Sourav Ganguly's advice to Virat Kohli

 

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly wants Virat Kohli to win the Asia Cup, which he believes would help regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to come out of his comfort zone and reinvent himself as a captain.

"I want Virat (Kohli) to win this tournament (Asia Cup)," Ganguly told a news channel on Tuesday.

"This would help Dhoni to come out of the comfort zone and help him to reinvent himself as a captain," he explained. Rubbishing suggestions that it would be a test for Kohli as a captain, Ganguly said the Delhi batsman should enjoy captaincy and prove his strengths to the selectors.

"It would be inappropriate to say that Kohli would be under pressure in the Asia Cup because even he knows that Dhoni would be the captain in the Twenty20 World Cup. So I would advice him to enjoy his captaincy and prove his strengths as a captain," Ganguly said. (Read more)