2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their World Cup 2023 match vs Bangladesh

A superb century from Virat Kohli, combined with excellent displays from Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, fired Team India to a seven-wicket win against Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday, October 19.

It's been an excellent start to the tournament for the Men in Blue, who have won all four of their matches so far to leapfrog most of the other contenders in the race for the semi-finals.

They will have the chance to reflect on their performances so far before taking on the current table-toppers, New Zealand, in Dharamsala on Sunday, October 22. Like India, the Kiwis have won four out of four and have a better run rate, and the contest will be a very important one.

Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by Team India in their World Cup 2023 clash against Bangladesh.

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#3 Mistake - Ravindra Jadeja wasn't introduced until the 18th over

Ravindra Jadeja's spell went a long way in the tide turning

Bangladesh's openers, Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan, put on a spirited display in Pune. They played out the new-ball spell from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj watchfully before hitting a few boundaries in the second half of the powerplay.

However, despite Kuldeep Yadav being introduced immediately after the powerplay, India waited to turn to Ravindra Jadeja. That may have been because of the presence of Tanzid, but the left-arm spinner would've been an excellent attacking option even against opposition left-handers.

Jadeja ended up playing a pivotal role in the first innings, with his control and accuracy going a long way in India pulling things back. Had he been introduced earlier, the Men in Blue could've applied the choke sooner.

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#2 Masterstroke - Rohit Sharma managed his resources superbly in Hardik Pandya's absence

India's premier all-rounder delivered just three balls

Hardik Pandya's ankle injury three balls into his spell meant that he played no further part in the game, and India's frontline bowlers needed to step up.

Although the openers had gotten ahead of the game, Bangladesh were restricted by a good display from the Indian bowlers, with their skipper marshaling his resources well. Shardul Thakur pulled things back after an expensive first over, and Rohit Sharma rotated his spinners well once he did turn to them.

India hit the right areas at the right stages of the innings even though they were without their middle-overs enforcer in Hardik, who would've been a potent weapon with his hard lengths.

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#1 Mistake - Some of India's batters threw away their wickets cheaply against negative matchups

Shubman Gill couldn't convert his fifty into a big score

Among India's top four, only one man managed to carry his bat and convert his start into a big score. That was Virat Kohli, who reached the three-figure mark off the last ball of the chase.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, though, walked back to the dugout having thrown away their wickets. Rohit was the first to go, and his dismissal was perhaps the most excusable as he had gotten India off to a fantastic start.

Shubman and Shreyas, however, were dismissed while trying to take on Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the opposition off-spinner. While the former headed back shortly after reaching a half-century, the latter never looked settled at the crease.

It might seem like a bit of nitpicking, but India's premier batters need to do better against their negative matchups.