Asia Cup 2014: India need 280 to win against Bangladesh; Mushfiqur Rahim scores 117 off 113

Indian players Mohammed Shami (2L) and Ambati Rayudu (L) try to take a catch to dismiss Bangladeshi batsman Shamsur Rahman during the second match of the Asia Cup one-day cricket tournament between Bangladesh and India at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, on the outskirts of Dhaka on February 26, 2014.

Put into bat by stand-in captain Virat Kohli in the 2nd One-day international of the Asia Cup 2014 at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah, Bangladesh have a set a challenging target of 280 for India to chase down, courtesy of a spectacular century from captain Mushfiqur Rahim.

Anamul Haque and Shamsur Rahman opened the innings for Bangladesh. What seemed like a steady start for the Bangladeshis was brought to an end after Mohammed Shami broke through in the 6th over to send Rahman back to the pavilion. Ravichandran Ashwin got the second wicket for India, that of Mominul Haque for a 29-ball 23, in his first ball of the match.

After a wobbly start by the home team, a brilliant 133-run partnership between Haque and Rahim, which saw Bangladesh get right back into the game, was broken by Varun Aaron in the 37th over, wrecking the stumps to bring a good innings by Haque to an end at 77.

A 49-run cameo between Rahim and Naeem Islam took the home team to 231 by the 45th over. Bangladesh then went on to lose a few wickets in quick succession, but Mushfiqur Rahim kept the momentum going and played an outstanding captain’s knock, making 117 off 113 balls, which saw Bangladesh reach 279 runs at the end of 50 overs.

Bangladesh will be very happy with the way their side has batted and will be very confident when they come out to field in the second half of the match. India, on the other hand, will will look to their openers to provide a steady start and at this point, will fancy their chances owing to the battling line-up that they have.

From the bowling perspective, Aaron had a horror outing conceding 74 runs in 7.5 overs. To make matters worse, he got banned from bowling in the innings further as a penalty for bowling a couple of beamers, the second of which was a 140-kph screamer that left Rahim, with his ribs tested, in immense pain. A good spell of death bowling from Shami, who had figures of 10-1-50-4, helped India claw back into the game, while the spin duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja did their part well.

Let’s hope the second half is as entertaining as the first and may the best team emerge victorious in a match that is most likely to go down the wire.