Virender Sehwag stated in a pre match interview “We have been waiting for this clash for the past 4 years”.So as one would suspect,it was revenge time as India met Bangladesh,the same team which had knocked them out of the previous edition in Carribean, in the opening encounter at Mirpur.There was wisdom in Bangladesh choosing to chase – the previous 11 day-night matches at the Shere Bangla were won by the team batting second .Sehwag though set the tone right from the start,the first ball of the megaevent screemed past cover for four.India qucikly moved onto 36/0 in four overs which prompted Shakib to bring on his strike bowler,Abdur Razzak.Razzak initially managed to stem the flow of runs but lacked support at the other end. At the score of 69 Bangladeshis got some reprive as Sehwag & Tendulkar both found themselves at the same end ,courtesy to some misunderstanding which resulted in latter being run out.Sehwag however continued to find the gaps,in the process hitting Razzak out of the park to bring the first six of the tournament.Gambhir came in & found his feet immediately.While Sehwag was quite severe,Gambhir on the other hand was bit circumspect,dabbing ,churning the strike over.Gambhir lost his wicket against the run of play,bowled by a straight one from Mahmadullah.This brought into effect,the volumptious nature of the crowd which had been silent till that point.Shakib had hoped to restrict India within 270 but he watched the score surge past 270 as both Sehwag & Kohli bludgeoned the attack taking India to 370/4 in the alloted 50 overs.The trademark feature of Kohli’s innings was the crispy drives against spinners on a pitch which was slow & offered fair bit of turn.Sehwag had the chance to reach double figure but fell in the 47th over at 175, nevertheless he fulfilled his promise of keeping his wicket intact through majority of the innings. The pitch quickened in the evening, making shot-making easier, and the dew greased the outfield, making the ball harder to grip. But Bangladesh’s bowlers had conceded too much ground for their batsmen to regain. They tried though, being aggrasive right from the outset.The highlight was the assault on Sreeshanth as he was carted by Kayes all over the park for 24 runs in the fifth over.Kayes however tried to be too adventerous in putting Munaf,s slower one to fence,in the process having his off stump pegged back.Tamim Iqbal who played second fiddle till then started opening out.He along with Shakib tried to bring some momentum to the innings but Zaheer,s control and the introduction of spin made sure that there won,t be repeat of Sehwag ,Kohli like blitz.Meanwhile the run rate surged upto 10 an over & from then on the match was all but over.Shakib made a well compiled half century but the lower middle order couldn,t keep up with the asking rate,the innings folding out on 284. In the end it was a comprehensive victory for Team India who finally had the monkey off their back,beating Bangladesh in the world cup for the first time.Sehwag meanwhile scored his first century against the same opposition,this would do his confidence a lot of good for the remainder of the tournament.
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