India were humbled by seven wickets in Delhi in the first T20I against Bangladesh, even with the visitors missing senior players like Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal. While India had a formidable unit even without their regular skipper Virat Kohli, they failed to win the big moments. Here we look at four reasons that led to their defeat.
Dhawan's slow knock
Shikhar Dhawan made the highest score in the Indian innings, a 42-ball 41 but it could well have cost India the game despite Sunil Gavaskar repeatedly praising Dhawan's knock. India made an under par 148 in the allotted 20 overs but lost just six wickets in the process with Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya striking the ball at a combined rate of over 200. Had they got more time - essentially if Dhawan had been dismissed earlier - India might have put up a bigger total.
Team combinations
Bangladesh bowled as many as eight bowlers in the game but India bowled just five of their regular bowlers plus Shivam Dube when the game had gotten out of hand. These days, T20 is all about unpredictability and India somehow seems to be lacking on this front. With too little bowling options, India are crippling themselves and putting too much onus on their main bowlers. A case in point was Khaleel Ahmed who went on to struggle in the death overs, but India had few other options to fill in for him.
Unlucky Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the best T20 leg-spinners going around and the spinner would have had a wonderful outing at Delhi but for his sheer bad luck. In the 10th over of the innings, Chahal trapped Rahim in front but the on-field umpire did not raise his finger. India discussed about going for a review but ultimately did not do so. Replays showed Rahim would have been dismissed had India reviewed. In the 18th over, Rahim once again gave a chance as he slog-swept Chahal straight to the deep fielder where Krunal dropped a sitter and leaked a boundary. Had the chances been taken, India would have had the set batsman Rahim back in the hut.
Leaving too much far too late
With bat and ball, India left too much to do far too late in the innings. With the bat, India scored just 20 runs between overs 14 and 17. It left them needing to score big in the final three overs, which they did but the cautious approach then was unwarranted and it cost India some valuable few runs. With the ball, Rohit Sharma had earmarked Khaleel Ahmed for the death and bowled him for three overs on the trot. The Bangladesh batsmen got familiar with the left-arm seamer and ended his spell with a streak of four boundaries. In the final phase where India used just three bowlers, Bangladesh used five thus never allowing the Indian batsmen to settle down at the wicket.
The next T20I of the three-match series will be held on November 7 with India finding themselves in a must-win situation.
Read: Victory over India brings back Bangladesh smiles
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Jewel Samad
