Bangladesh choke India for maiden T20I win
New Delhi, Nov 3: Mushfiqur Rahim single handedly fired Bangladesh to their maiden T20I win over India with an unbeaten 60, choking the fancied hosts in the smog-hit series opener here on Sunday.
As cricket took centre stage despite severe pollution, Bangladesh negotiated the pitch much better than India, who made 148 for six on a sticky surface.
The Indian batsmen appeared over-cautious after being invited to bat as the young brigade disappointed the 25,000 strong fans, who braved severe smog to pack the Feroz Shah Kotla ground .
Chasing 149, Bangladesh overhauled the target with three balls to spare to record their first ever win against India in nine meetings.
With Bangladesh needing 22 off the last 12 balls, Rahim (60 not out off 43) smashed four boundaries off as many balls in the penultimate over bowled by Khaleel Ahmed to tilt the game in his team's favour.
He and Soumya Sarkar (39 off 35 balls) added 60 runs for the third wicket to steer Bangladesh closer to victory. The second T20 will be played in Rajkot on Thursday.
After Khaleel cleaned up Sarkar, Rahim was dropped by Krunal Pandya off Chahal when the batsman was on 38.
Bangladesh lost Liton Das (7) early but debutant Mohammed Naim (26) and experienced Sarkar added 46 runs for the second wicket to keep India worried.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal tested the Bangladesh batsmen with his variations but Naim and Sarkar played smartly, keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Naim, considered Bangladesh's future star, went after Chahal but ended up giving an easy catch to Shikhar Dhawan at long-on.
The strategy of working the ball around rather than playing aggressive worked wonders for the visitors.
Rahim would have been back in the pavilion had India taken review in the 10th over. Chahal's appeal for an lbw was turned down and replays showed that he was out.
Sarkar swung his arm to produce a massive six off Krunal Pandya as Bangladesh began the push for the win.
There were no demons in the wicket though the odd ball was gripping the surface. None of the Indian batsmen could play a substantial knock after being put in to bat.
At the top, after skipper Rohit Sharma's early dismissal, Shikhar Dhawan scored at a slow pace, managing just 41 off 42 balls.
Dhawan, who has been struggling to find his touch since his comeback, was top-the scorer for India but he consumed seven overs before running himself out and it affected team's scoring rate.
Being the senior most player in the middle after Rohit's dismissal, he needed to stay long at the wicket but took too many balls to score his runs.
Much was expected from India's young brigade but save Shreyas Iyer, none took the attack by the scruff of its neck.
Iyer played an entertaining 13-ball 22 run knock, giving the innings a much needed move on.
Shivam Dube's much-awaited debut ended with just one run while Rishabh Pant managed 27 off 26 balls.
Had it not been for some gritty stroke-making by Washington Sundar (14 off 5 balls) and Krunal Pandya (15 off 8 balls), India would not have got close to the 150-run mark.
Pacer Shafiul Islam (2/36) and spinner Aminul Isam (2/22) shared four wickets between them.
India skipper Rohit, playing his 99th T20I, began by glancing the first delivery from Shafiul to the boundary ropes and also cover drove the paceman for another four as the hosts made a flying start.
However, Islam cut short Rohit's stay by trapping him before the wicket on the fifth ball.
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
