Batting, umpiring let Tigers down.
An umpiring gaffe, some lethargic fielding and erratic batting ended Bangladesh’s dream journey in World Cup 2015 at quarter-final stage as they were knocked out by India in Melbourne on Thursday. The Tigers, perhaps left excited by the big occasion, were unable to produce their best cricket that typified them in the tournament and took them beyond group stage defying the odds. India began the game as overwhelming favourites and finished it in style to secure an 109-run win, dismissing Bangladesh for 193 runs, after Rohit Sharma’s cracking 137 set them up nicely with 302-6 in 50 overs. Rohit had umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould to thank for his first World Cup century as the duo declared him not out on 90 calling a low full toss delivery of Rubel Hossain, which caught him on the hop, a no-ball. Rohit, in an attempt for a six, could connect it only with his bottom edge and Imrul Kayes completed the catch at square leg without any difficulty to trigger a celebration in Bangladesh tent. Bangladeshi fielders could not believe their eyes once umpire Gould declared it as no- ball at the instruction of his on-field colleague Dar, who apparently acted under the influence of non-striking batsman Suresh Raina.
The decision came as a telling blow for Bangladesh, who lost the momentum immediately, conceding few boundaries that on any other day they could stop with minimum effort. India added 97 runs in last 10 overs to take their total past 300-run mark, which looked a difficult task at times. Bangladesh dictated the terms for a long period when Sakib al Hasan and Rubel Hossain gave them two breakthroughs, slowing down India’s run rate to put some pressure on their middle-order. Sakib dragged Shikhar Dhwan out of his crease for 30 and when Rubel settled his old animosities with Virat Kohli, making him a catch of Mushfiqur Rahim for three, the contest went even. Ajinka Rahane’s dismissal to Taskin Ahmed for 19 was just the kind of tonic Bangladesh needed to reinvigorate themselves and it nearly pushed to the brink until the gift from umpires lifted their opponents. Bangladesh’s bowlers were also demoralised after the umpiring blunder and it was reflected in their figure. Rubel was outstanding in his first spell conceding just 14 runs in six overs but ended up with 1-56 runs.
Bangladesh’s only regret with the ball was the figure of skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza who struggled to find his rhythm ever since Rohit dispatched him for four off the very first ball. Mashrafee finished with 0-69, his worst bowling figure in 13 matches against India that left the Tigers clueless at times and helped India salvage their innings from a middle-over slump. India were confident they that they could defend the total as the history was with them. No team could ever chase down a total in excess of 300 runs at the MCG and it was beyond Bangladesh’s capacity either. The only time Bangladesh looked like going after India’s total when Tamim Iqbal hit Mohammed Shami three consecutive fours but once he went out for 25 they looked completely aimless. Mahmudullah’s dismissal in boundary rope also did not help their cause either. Dhawan could barely manage his feet to stay away from the rope leaving Bangladesh’s best batsmen in the tournament out for 21. A few other batsman surpassed him later but it made little difference as India make regular breakthroughs to complete the win and set up a semi-final clash against Pakistan or Australia.
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