Chasing a target of 128 runs set by Bangladesh, India reached the total in 11.5 overs with seven wickets to spare. Hardik Pandya emerged as the top scorer for India with a quickfire 39 runs off 16 balls.
India secured a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the first T20I. Chasing a target of 128 runs set by Bangladesh, India reached the total in 11.5 overs with seven wickets to spare. Hardik Pandya emerged as the top scorer for India with a quickfire 39 runs off 16 balls. Opener Sanju Samson (29) provided a solid start, while captain Suryakumar Yadav also contributed 29 runs. With this win, India takes a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Also read: Women's T20 World Cup: India keeps semis hopes alive with six-wicket win over Pakistan
Hardik Pandya finishes off in style in Gwalior 💥 win the T20I series opener and take a 1⃣-0⃣ lead in the series 👌👌
Scorecard - https://t.co/Q8cyP5jXLe pic.twitter.com/uYAuibix7Q
India got off to a decent start with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma (16) putting on 25 runs for the first wicket. However, Abhishek was unfortunately run out. Suryakumar Yadav, coming in at number three, started scoring quickly, adding 40 runs with Sanju. Surya, who faced only 14 balls, hit three sixes and two fours.
However, the partnership was broken in the sixth over. Sanju departed in the eighth over, caught by Rishad Hossain off Mehidy Hasan Miraz while attempting a big shot. He scored 29 runs off 19 balls, hitting six boundaries. Despite Sanju's dismissal, Hardik, along with Nitish Kumar Reddy (16 off 15), steered India to victory. Hardik's innings included two sixes and five fours.
Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh were the pick of the bowlers for India, claiming three wickets each. Debutant Mayank Yadav also chipped in with one wicket. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the top scorer for Bangladesh with an unbeaten 35 runs. As the scorecard suggests, Bangladesh's batting performance was lacklustre.
the Tigers lost both openers, Liton Das (4) and Parvez Hossain Emon (8), with only 14 runs on the board. Later, Najmul Hossain Shanto (27) and Towhid Hridoy (12) added 26 runs for the third wicket. However, Varun provided the breakthrough for India by dismissing Hridoy. Mahmudullah (1) and Zakir Ali (8) failed to make an impact.
With Shanto's dismissal, Bangladesh was reduced to 75 for six. Mehidy then put up a fight alongside Rishad Hossain (11) and Taskin Ahmed (12), taking the score past 120. Shoriful Islam (0) was the other batsman dismissed. Mustafizur Rahman (1) was bowled by Arshdeep with a perfect yorker. Washington Sundar and Hardik Pandya also picked up a wicket each, along with Mayank.
Also read: India's richest woman cricketer: Know Harmanpreet Kaur's net worth, assets, salary and more