India vanquish Bangladesh, secure semi-final spot

After facing their first defeat in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, India made a solid comeback as they registered a 28-run victory against Bangladesh at Edgbaston here on Tuesday.

With the victory, India have secured their semi-final spot as they now have 13 points and have consolidated their second position on the points table.

Chasing a mammoth target of 315 runs, Bangladesh got off to a brilliant start as the opener Tamim Iqbal began striking boundaries from the very beginning.

However, Mohammed Shami in the 10th over got hold of Iqbal, who played a knock of 22 runs. The other opener, Soumya Sarkar, was then accompanied by Shakib Al Hasan on the field. Both added 35 runs on the scoreboard before Sarkar (33) handed Kohli an easy catch off Hardik Pandya's delivery.

Mushfiqur Rahim then took the field and batted furiously as he kept on hammering the ball for boundaries. In the 23rd over, Rahim struck a boundary to Yuzvendra Chahal but in the same over Chahal took the wicket of Rahim to halt his 24-run inning.

Liton Das then took the field and batted nicely along with Shakib Al Hasan, who went on to score his half-century. Both added another 41 runs on the board before Pandya sent Das (22) back to the pavilion.

Das's dismissal brought Mosaddek Hossain out on the field but he too got out as Jasprit Bumrah bowled him in the 33rd over. In the very next over, Shakib Al Hasan too gave away his wicket after scoring 66 runs.

Mohammad Saifuddin and Sabbir Rahman then took the charge. Both played impeccably as they kept the scoreboard running and formed a crucial 66-run partnership. However, in the 44th over, Bumrah provided India with the much-needed breakthrough as he bowled Sabbir Rahman to end his 36-run inning.

After the conclusion of 44 overs, Bangladesh were at 251 runs for the loss of seven wickets and needed 64 runs to win. Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza (8) then came out to bat and smashed six to Bhuvenshwar Kumar off the very first delivery of the over but was caught behind on the next ball.

Rubel Hossain (9) was the next batsman but he failed to leave a mark as Bumrah bowled him in the 48th over. Bumrah continued his form and bowled the next batsman, Mustafizur Rahman, too on the next delivery and, consequently, India secured a 28-run victory.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul provided an exceptional start to India. The duo mixed caution with aggression, but once both the batsmen got their eyes in, they started to hammer the Bangladesh bowlers all around the park.

Sharma was given a reprieve in the fifth over as he was dropped by Tamim Iqbal. Mustafizur Rahman bowled a short ball, Rohit looked to clear the short boundary, but he was not able to get the elevation. Tamim who was at deep square leg dropped the catch.

Rahul and Sharma did not let any Bangladesh bowler settle at the crease. The duo went on to stitch a partnership of 180 runs, which saw Sharma bringing up his century. Both these batsmen stitched the highest opening partnership in this World Cup so far.

Bangladesh finally got a breakthrough in the 30th over as Sharma (104) was sent back to the pavilion by Soumya Sarkar. Rahul was dismissed soon after (77) by Rubel Hossain, reducing India to 195/2 in the 33rd over.

Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli got together at the crease and they did not let the momentum slide away. Both batsmen played with an aggressive mindset and hammered the Bangladesh bowlers for regular boundaries. Pant and Kohli put up a 42-run stand, but their stint at the crease was cut short by Mustafizur Rahman as he dismissed Kohli (26). Hardik Pandya was sent back to the pavilion for a duck by Rahman, reducing India to 237/4 in the 40th over.

Dhoni joined Pant in the middle and they stitched together a 40-run stand, but Pant's stint at the crease finally came to an end as he was dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan for 48. Dinesh Karthik, who was playing his first World Cup match, failed to leave a mark as he was dismissed for just eight runs.

Wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni once again failed to play with a healthy strike-rate in the death overs and was finally dismissed in the final over after scoring 35 runs. Bangladesh kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and as a result, they restricted India to under 320-run mark.

Sharma was the top-scorer for India as he played a knock of 104 runs whereas Bangladesh's Rahman scalped five wickets.India will now face Sri Lanka on July 6 while Bangladesh will compete against Pakistan on July 5.

Brief scores: India 314/9 (Rohit Sharma 104, KL Rahul 77, Mustafizur Rahman 5-59) defeated Bangladesh 286/10 (Shakib Al Hasan 66, Mohammad Saifuddin 51*, Jasprit Bumrah 4-55) by 28 runs. (ANI)