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SPORTS                                                              OCTOBER 18, 2024       |  The Indian Eye 44



                                        INDIA-BANGLADESH SERIES



                 India take unassailable 2-0 lead in T20Is




                     with young guns firing on all cylinders




             Rinku Singh says coach Gautam Gambhir, who worked closely with him as a mentor in

                  Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL, has given him freedom to play the way he wants to


        OUR BUREAU
        New Delhi
           n the second T20Iof the series, Bangladesh won
           the toss and elected to bowl first. India was re-
        Iduced to 41/3 at one point, but Nitish (74 in 34
        balls) and Rinku Singh (53 in 29 balls, with five fours
        and three sixes) put on a match-saving stand of 108
        runs. Hardik Pandya (32 in 19 balls, with two fours
        and two sixes) played a fine cameo to power India
        to 221/9 in their 20 overs. India has won the three-
        match series 2-0.
            Rishad  Hossain  (3/55)  and  Taskin  Ahmed
        (2/16) were the top bowlers for Bangladesh.
            In the run-chase of 222 runs, Bangladesh ini-
        tially  kept up with the run-rate,  but  lost  wickets
        continuously. Except Mahmadullah (41 in 39 balls,
        with three sixes), nobody could really play a decent
        knock and Bangladesh ended with 135 on the board
        with nine wickets lost. India won by 86 runs.
            Varun Chakravarthy (2/19) and Nitish (2/23)
        were among the top bowlers for India. Abhishek
        Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar and
        Riyan Parag got a wicket each.
            Nitish won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for
        his fine all-round show.
            Following India’s win over Bangladesh in the
        second T20I, batter Rinku Singh said that the ball    Rinku Singh plays a shot during the second T20I match against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium
        was gripping the surface initially and was not coming
        on the bat properly. A fine all-round performance                             in New Delhi on Wednesday (ANI)
        from Team India, particularly Nitish Kumar Reddy,
        helped the Men in Blue secure an 86-run win over  I am ready for every opportunity.”       presented by the pitch.” Reflecting on his own per-
        Bangladesh in the second T20I at Delhi’s Arun Jait-  Meanwhile, Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin  formance, Taskin mentioned his efforts to stick to
        ley Stadium on Wednesday.                    Ahmed praised the Indian team’s approach and  his game plan, “I just tried to execute my plan. I was
            After the game in a post-match press confer-  execution after Bangladesh’s T20I loss to India on  clearer than the first game.”
        ence, Rinku said, “When match started the ball was  Wednesday. India defeated Bangladesh by 86 runs   Meanwhile, former Pakistan player Basit Ali
        not coming properly to the bat and once, we got the  in the second T20I in Delhi on Wednesday.  slammed the Pakistani team following India’s mar-
        momentum we started to hit. The ball was gripping   “India batted really well. They do that not only  vellous performance in the second T20I of the three-
        the surface but once we hit some sixes the momen-  in Indian conditions but all the conditions. They bat-  match series against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley
        tum changed.”                                ted well till the end,” Taskin remarked in the post-  Stadium here. “The thought process is very import-
            Rinku said that the coach Gautam Gambhir,  match press conference, emphasizing India’s adapt-  ant, which is missing in Pakistani cricket. India rest-
        who worked closely with him as a mentor in Kol-  ability and consistent performance across various  ed Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal but nobody
        kata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier  environments.                              rests in our team. So, please learn something from
        League (IPL), has given him freedom to play the   Speaking about Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s  India,” Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel.
        way he wants to.                             prominent allrounder, Taskin noted, “Shakib is al-  “The kind of sixes that Nitish hit should be
            “When I come out to bat, I look to score singles  ways important for us but we have to accept the re-  called ‘Athhe’ and not sixes. And then Rinku Singh is
        and look for bad balls to hit. The team is important,  ality that he is going to retire. He is important to us.”  Michael Bevan after all. Gautam Gambhir’s think-
        not me. The team should win the match,” elaborat-  Taskin candidly assessed Bangladesh’s batting  ing has been a success. I am not saying that he will
        ed Rinku on his approach as a batter.        performance, stating, “The wicket was good for bat-  win the World Cup straight away. Even if he flops,
            On the possibility of playing all three formats  ting but we did not bat well to our potential. Despite  Gautam won’t stop backing him because they pick
        for India, Rinku, who has played both ODIs and  favourable conditions, the team fell short of expec-  players and make them and this is the best example
        T20Is for India, said, “I see myself in all formats and  tations, unable to capitalize on the opportunities  of that,” the former cricketer added.


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