India registered a comprehensive 95-run win against Bangladesh in their second and final warm-up game ahead of the World Cup. Centuries by MS Dhoni (113 off 78 balls) and KL Rahul (108 off 99 balls) helped India post a mammoth total of 359. The spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav then picked up 6-wickets between them to ensure that Bangladesh fell short of the target.
India’s batting had failed miserably in the first warm-up game against New Zealand. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan struggled against the pace and swing of the New Zealand bowling attack which resulted in a six-wicket loss. Both the openers failed to get going today too, while Kohli was dismissed for 47. KL Rahul and Dhoni then took the attack to the opposition.
India’s is yet to settle the number 4 batting debate. The team management experimented in the match against New Zealand sending Hardik Pandya at number 5 ahead of MS Dhoni, however, the all-rounder failed to have any impact. KL Rahul, who scored a scintillating century, came in at no. 4 today and has made a strong case for himself. What could make Rahul’s case even stronger is the fact that Vijay Shankar had a forgettable game (2 off 7 balls and 0/46 in 6 overs) in both departments.
Bangladesh batsmen barring Liton Das (73) and Mushfiqur Rahim (90), who added 120 runs for the third wicket, were never in charge. They were all-out for 264 in 49.3 overs.
India is scheduled to play their first match of the World 2019 against South Africa on June 5.
TEAMS:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Abu Jayed, Mosaddek Hossain