India storm into Nidahas T20 final

Colombo: India defeated Bangladesh by 17 runs  to enter the final,  in the fifth match of the Nidahas Trophy T20 cricket tournament,  played at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Wednesday. Chasing 177 was never going to be easy on wicket which was a little sluggish and the start for Bangladesh was also not good. They lost the accelerator of their last game, Liton Das, early. Tamim Iqbal (27) though continued playing his shots and got the Bangla Tigers off to a flier. However, Washington Sunder spun a web around the opposition batsmen as he picked up three and three big ones in the Powerplay. 

Mahmudullah did show intent after coming up but he fell pray to another spinner, Chahal. Then Sabbir (27) and Mushfiqur Rahim (72 not out) joined forces and did provide hope with a 65-run stand but once the former departed it was too much to ask for for Rahim who once again notched up a fifty and remained unbeaten.  Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma (89) led from the front and helped India post 176/3 
Indian openers Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (35) clicked at the right time and gave the crucial start when needed the most. 

Skipper Rohit, who was out of form for quite a long time, returned to the form and slammed his 13th fifty (off 42 balls). Suresh Raina (47) also contributed handsomely to the cause.On the other hand, Bangladesh bowlers struggled right from the start. The fielders failed to restrict the Indian batsmen, thanks to some sloppy work on the outfield. 

Put in to bat, India started off on a perfect note as the openers forged a 70-run partnership before Dhawan was clean bowled by Rubel Hossain. His 27-ball knock was laced with five boundaries and one six. Experienced left-arm batsman Raina then joined Rohit and the duo played sensibly. In the process, Rohit completed his half-century and helped India to cross 100-run mark in 14th over. 

Raina also played as expected from him. The Uttar Pradesh batsman dispatched the bad balls perfectly while rotating the strike. The last four overs saw some brilliant hammering from the duo. But in the last over, Raina, who was three short of his 50 at that point, was caught by Soumya Sarkar off Hossain. His 30-ball knock comprised of five boundaries and two sixes.    

The last ball of the inning saw Rohit, who played 61 balls, getting run out while going for a run and thus India posted 176 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Dinesh Karthik (2) remained unbeaten at the other end. For Bangladesh, Hossain picked up two wickets.