Shakib, Hridoy fifties help Tigers post 265 against India

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan and in-form batter Towhid Hridoy hit fifties as the tigers posted 265 for eight in their Asia Cup Super Four contest against India at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday.

Shakib missed out on his 10th ODI ton as he departed after scoring a well-made 85-ball80 laced with six fours and three sixes, while Hridoy had to grind it out in the middle to score an 81-ball 54.

India's Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up three wickets for 65 runs, while Mohammad Shami chipped in with two scalps.

Bangladesh were sent into bat after India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss.

Opener Liton Das's poor form continued as he was dismissed for a duck in the third over of the innings as he had little clue about Mohammad Shami's in-swinger that nipped in after pitching outside off as the ball zipped past the defense and crashed onto the stumps. 

One brought two for India as an over later, Liton's partner Tanzid Tamim had to go back to the hut. Tamim, who was left out after the Tigers' first game against Sri Lanka in the ongoing edition of the tournament, couldn't make his second shot at opening the innings count as he played one onto the stumps while trying to pull a short-of-a-good-length delivery bowled by India pacer Shardul Thakur in the fourth over. He looked good for his 12-ball 13 as he put away three boundaries but failed to capitalise on his start.

Things looked ominous for the Tigers when number three batter Anamul Haque Bijoy threw his wicket away in a manner that made many scratch their heads. In the fourth over, Anamul pulled Shardul for a boundary in the second delivery of the sixth over. The next ball was a yorker that he fended after which he looked to pull across a good-length delivery outside off-stump but failed to get anywhere near to make proper contact. All he could do is concede a top-dge that scooped up and fell into the hands of wicketkeeper KL Rahul. His lacklustre knock lasted for 11 balls off which he managed four runs that came from a solitary boundary.  

Mehedi Hasan Miraz was asked to come at number five today and the right-handed batter struggled to get going. Having been dropped twice in an over, the 25-year-old failed to capitalise on his good fortune and could only manage a 28-ball 13 before poking at a regulation delivery outside off-stump bowled by left-arm spinner Axar Patel in the 14th over. It seemed Miraz was caught in two minds and ended up giving Rohit Sharma at slip a catching practice. This left the Tigers reeling at four down for 59 runs. 

With Bangladesh staring down the barrel of yet another dismal batting effort, skipper Shakib displayed some of his most decisive batsmanship to drag the Tigers out of imminent trouble. He played a series of commanding strokes to keep the score ticking while stitching a 101-run stand with Towhid Hridoy. 

Shakib came in to bat in the fourth over and hit five fours and a two sixes  while bringing up his 55th ODI fifty in 65 deliveries when he hit left-arm spinner Axar Patel for a maximum in the 26th over. But the Drinks Break became the death of him as he played one onto the stumps in the first delivery of the 34th over bowled by seamer Shardul Thakur which was the first ball after the break. It appeared that Shakib suffered from a lapse in concentration as he played a half-hearted shot to leave Bangladesh reeling at five down for 160. 

Shamim's streak of having minimal impact on the Tigers collective performance continued. For the second straight occasion, he was dismissed in similar fashion when he went back to a regulation left-arm spin delivery bowled by Ravindra Jadeja and got trapped lbw in front after managing one run from five deliveries.

Hridoy kept up the charge and reached his fifty with a boundary but soon fell to Shami when he tried to take on the pacer over square leg. The ball was there to be hit and Hridoy managed to get good bat on it but the elevation outweighed distance on that occasion and the ball fell into debutant Tilak Varma's hands at deep square leg. His dismissal left the Tigers at seven down for 193 and given the recent performances of their tail, the Tigers were in danger of being bundled out for yet another subpar score.

But Nasum Ahmed, who is in the side for his bowling, refused to bend and led a counter-punch, scoring a 45-ball 44 laced with six fours and a six as he put together a 45-run stand for the eighth wicket with Sheikh Mahedi Hasan, who scored a 23-ball 29.

Debutant Tanzim Hasan Sakib chipped in with an eight-ball 14-run cameo to help Bangladesh out of a bleak outlook adn post a total beyond 250.