IND vs BAN | 3rd T20I Evaluation Chart - Here's your perfect concoction for a T20 game

BySritama Panda, SportsCafe Editor

11/11/2019

With glimpses of the Delhi and Rajkot T20Is, the decider at Nagpur was nothing but pure gold in terms of having all the elements required to make a perfect game. As India sealed the series 2-1 with an ecstatic victory, Bangladesh do have some positive to take in the form of Mohammad Naim.

Match Review

Bangladesh were able to do at the start of the third T20I exactly what they had done in the first game at Delhi. They got Rohit Sharma out for cheap with Shafiul Islam doing the job yet again. By the end of the powerplay, even Shikhar Dhawan was sent back to the pavilion and it seemed as if the visitors would grab the game by the scruff of the neck. But for quite some time in between opener KL Rahul seemed settled, scoring smoothly. After he got dismissed, Shreyas Iyer left no stone unturned in order to put India ahead, which he did. Due to his exploits, the hosts didn’t have to see a run rate lower than eight till the end as they finished the innings with 174 on the board.

Chasing a target of 175, Bangladesh seemed to move away from their successful mantra of powerplay hitting in part due to the Indian bowlers’ performance right from the start. The 22-year-old southpaw Naim did bring Bangladesh’s chase back to life in the initial phase of the second half but his wicket in the 16th over ended the visitors’ cause at that very moment. A major reason for that was India claiming Mushfiqur Rahim’s scalp for a golden duck. But the highlight of the match only came about when Deepak Chahar sealed the game and the series India with a hattrick in the final over. That summed up India’s scintillating dominance in the series.

Turning Point

In my belief, as far as the T20 format is concerned, there can’t be just one turning point. Even in this game, in Nagpur, there was not one but two major turning points. Bangladesh made their first big mistake too early with Aminul Islam Biplob dropping a sitter, giving another life to Shreyas Iyer - the batsman who would cause the most damage. Iyer, who scored a 33-ball 62, was on zero at that point and surely that added some extra runs on the board that proved a step too far for the visitors.

Before Deepak Chahar could register the best ever bowling figures(6 for 7) in T20Is with a brilliant hat-trick in the last over, it was Shivam Dube who had completely killed Bangladesh’s hopes of making it a close game in the decider. I’ve spoken enough about Naim to point out that he was the one who could and almost made a difference for the visitors. But, Alas! All hopes of Bangladesh making history were shattered when Naim(81 off 48) was cleaned up by Dube.

Highs and Lows

I don’t know where to start with the highs as there were too many in the game, but the part that I enjoyed the most in the game highlights India’s innings. While Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul did send quite a few to the boundary, there were no sixes until Shreyas Iyer decided to let lose some spectacular sixes. There was suddenly a spark in India’s batting and the hat-trick of sixes were so long and neat that one cannot help but enjoy them.

Oh, what to speak of the lows! Even when the players from both sides messed up, it caused more chaos than disappointment. The stage never went cold as the antics remained alive, making it one of the best T20Is in recent memory. Something I’m brutally stating on a day when New Zealand and England decided to throw another Super Over at the world.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: - India (7/10), Bangladesh (5/10)

India’s batting after Rohit Sharma’s early departure had to take a dip, even though Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul tried to accelerate a little. There were no sixes hit in the powerplay overs, something that could’ve helped the initial part of India’s innings. However, Dhawan and Rahul managed quite a few boundaries taking the run rate, at the end of the sixth over, beyond six. Dhawan did lose his wicket in the final over of the powerplay, putting India on 41/2.

On the other hand, Bangladesh had the worst of starts when compared to their batting in the first two T20Is. Chasing a target of 175 in the decider, Bangladesh lost Liton Das early thanks to a brilliant catch by Washington Sundar in the third over itself. On the very next delivery, the new batsman in - Soumya Sarkar - was sent back for a golden duck, putting Deepak Chahar on a hattrick. Despite a series of fours by Mohammad Naim, Bangladesh only managed 33/2 at the end of the first six overs which can only be termed a very mediocre performance.

Death Bowling- Bangladesh (4/10) & India (10/10)

Nothing extraordinary there from the parties, the last five overs of India’s innings seemed like business as usual. But kudos to India for keeping the run rate up despite Soumya Sarkar’s double scalp of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer in the 17th over. Simultaneously, one point extra for Bangladesh who did get the danger man Iyer out before he could cause further damage, However, for conceding 45 runs in the last five overs Bangladesh deserves a solid four.

India’s death bowling showcased even more character than their performance in the first six overs of Bangladesh’s innings. As Deepak Chahar did enough damage during the initial phase, he passed on the baton to Shivam Dube, who laid down the foundation for a brilliant death bowling spell for India. But the real hero for India, Chahar came back in the 18th over to hold the reins once again. With exceptional bowling in the final overs of his spell, the pacer registered the best bowling figures in T20 Internationals. All in all, Bangladesh were bundled out for 144. With just 19 runs conceded at the cost of six wickets in the last five overs, for me that was the best death bowling in a while and deserves nothing lower than 10!

Ground Fielding and Catching - India (5/10) & Bangladesh (1/10)

While India had the perfect day with both the batting and bowling departments, they did fall behind in the field yet again. This includes everything from Yuzvendra Chahal’s mess up at a runout chance to the crowd chanting MS Dhoni’s name after Rishabh Pant chose to use the DRS for no reason. Sure there were some good instances too, like Liton Das’ catch by Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube’s caught & bowled. But if I’d been in the audience, I’d surely be missing Ravindra Jadeja way too much.

Well, currently, if there’s one team that could compete with Pakistan in terms of poor fielding is no other side but Bangladesh. Starting from Aminul Islam’s dropped Iyer catch, Bangladesh were just a lost cause in terms of fielding. The one point that I’ve given quite generously is due to Liton Das’ slightly above average catching abilities, which seems godlike when compared to his teammates.

Spectator Rating Meter - Exceptional

There was nostalgia, excitement, pressure, thrill and every kind of ingredient to make it a perfect concoction for the fan’s soul. As a spectator, I couldn’t have asked for a better series decider. Not at any point did the game lose its charm and hence, I rate it above the preceding games combined. Even exceptional is an understatement, but at least practical.