India won by 87 runs in 1st Odi ICC Cricket Worldcup

There was no reprise of the 2007 upset at Port of pain in the opening game of this World Cup. Instead, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli gave evidence of the havoc this Indian batting line-up can create during centuries that demoralised Bangladesh's bowlers. Shakib Al Hasan's men failed to maintain their composure in the grandest match of their lives and conceded a total beyond the reach of their batting abilities.

There was wisdom in Bangladesh choosing to chase - the previous 12 day-night matches at the Shere Bangla were won by the team batting second - but their bowlers were wayward on a slow pitch that kept low and had loopy bounce not conducive to shot-making. Shakib wanted to keep India below 260 when he put them in because of the dew factor later in the evening. He watched the target surge past that as Sehwag and Kohli, who justified his captain's decision to leave out Suresh Raina, dismantled the attack in front of a shell-shocked crowd and powered India to 370.

Bangladesh, however, did not go quietly. Faced with an impossible chase, Imrul Kayes attacked from the outset after which Tamim Iqbal and Shakib took charge. They set off at a sprint, swinging fearlessly, edging luckily, and brought cheer to their supporters. What Bangladesh failed to do, though, was sustain the aggression for as long as Sehwag did, and the asking-rate soared irreversibly out of reach.

With a withering back-foot drive, Sehwag had slammed the first ball of the tournament to the cover boundary, the opening move of his maiden century against Bangladesh silencing a boisterous Mirpur crowd. Shafiul Islam had given Sehwag too much width, and in his second over he strayed twice on to Sachin Tendulkar's pads with dire consequences. His day would not get better and he conceded 69 off seven.

India raced to 36 after four overs, forcing Shakib to turn to his premier spinner, Abdur Razzak, in the fifth. Razzak looped the ball into Sehwag from round the wicket, following the batsman and cramping him for room as he tried to hit inside out through the off side. Sehwag had scored 12 off his first six balls and 13 off his next 24.

Bangladesh were listless, though, as Sehwag regained his touch and never lost it again, but they also had some good fortune. A mix-up, during which both Tendulkar and Sehwag were ball-watching, left both batsmen at one end and the Mirpur crowd found its voice again.

Sehwag, however, continued piercing gaps and hit the tournament's first six, hoisting Razzak over wide long-on to reach fifty off 45 balls. With Gautam Gambhir, Sehwag added 83 to build on the opening stand of 69. While Sehwag used muscle, Gambhir played with precision - dabbing, pushing and chipping into gaps. His dismissal for a run-a-ball 39, bowled by a straight one from Mahmudullah, was against the run of play.

The exceptional feature of Kohli's innings was his driving. On a surface this slow, he reached the pitch of the ball, gathering momentum with a forward thrust of his body, and drove crisply through the off side with a whip of his wrists. He did it against pace and spin, scoring effortlessly at more than a run a ball. In the 33rd over, Kohli drove Naeem Islam twice to the cover boundary and pulled him behind square, placing the ball just wide of the fielders each time. India took their batting Powerplay after the mandatory ball change and scored 48 for 0 during the fielding restrictions.

At one stage Sehwag, who had Gambhir running for him because of an injury, had a shot at a double-century. He fell in the 48th over, though, almost making good his pledge to bat through the innings. Kohli continued to motor towards a hundred in his first World Cup match and got there off the penultimate ball of the innings, possibly having secured his spot for the rest of the tournament.

The pitch quickened in the evening, making shot-making easier, and the dew greased the outfield, making the ball harder to grip. But Bangladesh's bowlers had conceded too much ground for their batsmen to regain. They tried, though, and the initial assault on the Indian bowlers was fierce.

The highlight of that brief blitz was the attack on Sreesanth. Kayes edged, flicked, pulled and drove him for boundaries, and a wayward wide contributed to Bangladesh taking 24 runs off the fifth over. They were 51 for 0. Kayes then tried to force the slower pace of Munaf Patel, who replaced Sreesanth, through the off side and played on, ending the opening partnership at 56.

Zaheer Khan's control and the introduction of spin resulted in an increase in dot balls and a reduction in boundaries, and by the half-way stage the asking-rate was already 9.36. Tamim and Shakib completed aggressive half-centuries and the rest of the batsmen also struck the ball fluently during a heartening display. Victory, however, had already escaped them. Bangladesh will hope to reproduce this batting effort in a match in which their bowlers get their act together.


Scorecard

ICC Cricket World Cup - 1st match, Group B

Bangladesh v India

India won by 87 runs

• ODI no. 3100 | 2010/11 season
• Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
• 19 February 2011 - day/night (50-over match)

	India innings (50 overs maximum)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	V Sehwag	b Shakib Al Hasan	175	140	14	5	125.00
	47.3 91.3 kph, end of an epic from Sehwag, he falls for the same legendary score that Kapil made on a 28 years ago, it was a fullish ball angling into Sehwag, he looked to carve it past point, gets a bottom edge onto the stump,s slight relief for Bangladesh, once again Sehwag can't play out 50 overs. doesn't matter, take a bow Sehwag. 355/3
	SR Tendulkar	run out (Shakib Al Hasan/†Mushfiqur Rahim)	28	29	4	0	96.55
	10.5 from Abdur Razzak, a huge wicket for Bangladesh, Sachin Tendulkar is gone after an amateurish mix-up, Tendulkar tucked the ball towards wide mid-on, Shakib at midwicket dived and intercepted it, Tendulkar had sets off for the run immediately, Sehwag was ball watching and didn't respond to the Tendulkar, Tendulkar was also ball watching so both batsmen end up at the same end, Shakib throws the ball to the keeper, who takes off the bails and the crowd go bonkers 69/1
	G Gambhir	b Mahmudullah	39	39	3	0	100.00
	23.2 98.2 kph, soft dismissal, softer than a baby's bottom as they say! Gambhir gets a non-descript ball that lands back of a length on leg and middle, and straightens a touch. He looks to work it to the leg side, but was just a little loose in the execution. The ball sneaked through between bat and pad, to disturb the stumps. Mirpur finds its voice again. Interesting dismissal, it seemed to stay lower than Gambhir thought. In hidsight, he should have been on the front foot. 152/2
	V Kohli	not out	100	83	8	2	120.48
	YK Pathan	c †Mushfiqur Rahim b Shafiul Islam	8	10	0	0	80.00
	49.6 133.0 kph, that's the end of the innings, Yusuf nicks the final ball to the keeper, India end on 370, though they got only 16 off the final three overs 370/4
	Extras	(b 1, lb 2, w 16, nb 1)	20
	Total	(4 wickets; 50 overs)	370	(7.40 runs per over)

Did not bat Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni*†, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, S Sreesanth, MM Patel

Fall of wickets1-69 (Tendulkar, 10.5 ov), 2-152 (Gambhir, 23.2 ov), 3-355 (Sehwag, 47.3 ov), 4-370 (Pathan, 49.6 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Shafiul Islam	7	0	69	1	9.85	(1nb, 2w)
	49.6 to Pathan, 133.0 kph, that's the end of the innings, Yusuf nicks the final ball to the keeper, India end on 370, though they got only 16 off the final three overs 370/4
	Rubel Hossain	10	0	60	0	6.00	(5w)
	Abdur Razzak	9	0	74	0	8.22	(1w)
	Shakib Al Hasan	10	0	61	1	6.10	(3w)
	47.3 to Sehwag, 91.3 kph, end of an epic from Sehwag, he falls for the same legendary score that Kapil made on a 28 years ago, it was a fullish ball angling into Sehwag, he looked to carve it past point, gets a bottom edge onto the stump,s slight relief for Bangladesh, once again Sehwag can't play out 50 overs. doesn't matter, take a bow Sehwag. 355/3
	Naeem Islam	7	0	54	0	7.71
	Mahmudullah	7	0	49	1	7.00	(3w)
	23.2 to Gambhir, 98.2 kph, soft dismissal, softer than a baby's bottom as they say! Gambhir gets a non-descript ball that lands back of a length on leg and middle, and straightens a touch. He looks to work it to the leg side, but was just a little loose in the execution. The ball sneaked through between bat and pad, to disturb the stumps. Mirpur finds its voice again. Interesting dismissal, it seemed to stay lower than Gambhir thought. In hidsight, he should have been on the front foot. 152/2

	Bangladesh innings (target: 371 runs from 50 overs)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	Tamim Iqbal	c Yuvraj Singh b Patel	70	86	3	1	81.39
	32.1 144.6 kph, and he strikes once more in his first over of the spell, this time off the first ball itself, Tamim looks to thrash a length ball towards the leg side, he makes good contact but the ball flies only as far as Yuvraj Singh, who takes a sharp, low catch at midwicket, end of Tamim's vigil, he wasn't at his best today, getting bogged down early on, but held up one end 188/3
	Imrul Kayes	b Patel	34	29	7	0	117.24
	6.5 124.1 kph, If you dropped a pin in Mirpur, you'd hear it in Dhaka. Kayes has played onto Munaf. Back of a length again from Munaf, that's his business area as he gets this to angle across from slightly wide of the crease. Kayes went for the cut, and was almost surprised by the drop in pace. In hindsight, he did not have the room for the cut. Inside edge and it crashes into the stumps. The crowd loses its voice. 56/1
	Junaid Siddique	st †Dhoni b Harbhajan Singh	37	52	1	1	71.15
	23.1 70.1 kph, is that a stumping, third umpire is called off, Harbhajan gets the ball to ship away sharply from Junaid, who is beaten as he looks to play on the front foot, Dhoni is an exceptional stumper these days, he's whips off the bails in a jiffy and after several replays the third umpire sends Junaid on his way, much to the Mirpur crowd's disappointment, reward for Harbhajan who has bowled extremely well today 129/2
	Shakib Al Hasan*	c Harbhajan Singh b Pathan	55	50	5	0	110.00
	39.4 88.5 kph, Shakib falls. Mirpur is silenced once again. Harbhajan takes the catch and puts it in his pocket. Yusuf makes the only noise emanating from the ground - he roars. Slow delivery, tossed up invitingly on middle and leg, and given the circumstances, Shakib had to go for that. He got under it, but couldn't quite go all the way. Harbhajan set himself up a few yars in from deep midwicket and pouched it. Pocketed it, would be more appropriate 234/4
	Mushfiqur Rahim†	c sub (SK Raina) b Khan	25	30	2	0	83.33
	42.3 117.6 kph, Rahim goes. No repeat of the 2007 50 for him. Zaheer lands this slow and full outside off and Rahim again looks to hoist him over the covers. Raina, inside the circle, timed his jump perfectly to haul it back in. 248/5
	Raqibul Hasan	not out	28	28	0	1	100.00
	Mahmudullah	b Patel	6	6	0	0	100.00
	44.3 135.6 kph, Munaf has yorked him. Perfect delivery, if you can land it there, you don't need pace. Munaf doesn't have any pace. Almost no follow through after he delivered that. On the base of the stumps as Mahmudullah backs away and looks to first drive, and then steer, and finally squeeze through the off side. It is not there for any of those shots and pings leg stump. Gone 261/6
	Naeem Islam	lbw b Patel	2	8	0	0	25.00
	46.3 123.6 kph, Naeem nailed. How many of you have Munaf in your fantasy team? Raking it in, eh? He does what he does best - keeps it back of a length on off stump. This one keeps low too as Naeem plays all around it, in an attempt to flick. Munaf doesn't appeal as much as direct the umpire to raise his finger. And he obliges. Four for Munaf. 275/7
	Abdur Razzak	lbw b Khan	1	5	0	0	20.00
	47.6 135.6 kph, and gone. Easy as it comes, Zaheer has a wicket off his last ball. Length ball on off stump, holds its line and thuds into Razzak's pads as he tries to work it leg side. Would have hit leg 279/8
	Shafiul Islam	run out (Harbhajan Singh)	0	1	0	0	0.00
	48.3 from Patel, Harbhajan throws down the stumps and Shafiul has to go. Shafiul defends from leg stump, straight to Harbhajan swooping in from wide mid on, and Hasan sent him back. Harbhajan hit the stumps at the batsman's end and it was all over. 280/9
	Rubel Hossain	not out	1	6	0	0	16.66
	Extras	(lb 10, w 13, nb 1)	24
	Total	(9 wickets; 50 overs)	283	(5.66 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-56 (Imrul Kayes, 6.5 ov), 2-129 (Junaid Siddique, 23.1 ov), 3-188 (Tamim Iqbal, 32.1 ov), 4-234 (Shakib Al Hasan, 39.4 ov), 5-248 (Mushfiqur Rahim, 42.3 ov), 6-261 (Mahmudullah, 44.3 ov), 7-275 (Naeem Islam, 46.3 ov), 8-279 (Abdur Razzak, 47.6 ov), 9-280 (Shafiul Islam, 48.3 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	S Sreesanth	5	0	53	0	10.60	(1nb, 1w)
	Z Khan	10	0	40	2	4.00	(4w)
	42.3 to Mushfiqur Rahim, 117.6 kph, Rahim goes. No repeat of the 2007 50 for him. Zaheer lands this slow and full outside off and Rahim again looks to hoist him over the covers. Raina, inside the circle, timed his jump perfectly to haul it back in. 248/5 47.6 to Abdur Razzak, 135.6 kph, and gone. Easy as it comes, Zaheer has a wicket off his last ball. Length ball on off stump, holds its line and thuds into Razzak's pads as he tries to work it leg side. Would have hit leg 279/8
	MM Patel	10	0	48	4	4.80
	6.5 to Imrul Kayes, 124.1 kph, If you dropped a pin in Mirpur, you'd hear it in Dhaka. Kayes has played onto Munaf. Back of a length again from Munaf, that's his business area as he gets this to angle across from slightly wide of the crease. Kayes went for the cut, and was almost surprised by the drop in pace. In hindsight, he did not have the room for the cut. Inside edge and it crashes into the stumps. The crowd loses its voice. 56/1 32.1 to Tamim Iqbal, 144.6 kph, and he strikes once more in his first over of the spell, this time off the first ball itself, Tamim looks to thrash a length ball towards the leg side, he makes good contact but the ball flies only as far as Yuvraj Singh, who takes a sharp, low catch at midwicket, end of Tamim's vigil, he wasn't at his best today, getting bogged down early on, but held up one end 188/3 44.3 to Mahmudullah, 135.6 kph, Munaf has yorked him. Perfect delivery, if you can land it there, you don't need pace. Munaf doesn't have any pace. Almost no follow through after he delivered that. On the base of the stumps as Mahmudullah backs away and looks to first drive, and then steer, and finally squeeze through the off side. It is not there for any of those shots and pings leg stump. Gone 261/6 46.3 to Naeem Islam, 123.6 kph, Naeem nailed. How many of you have Munaf in your fantasy team? Raking it in, eh? He does what he does best - keeps it back of a length on off stump. This one keeps low too as Naeem plays all around it, in an attempt to flick. Munaf doesn't appeal as much as direct the umpire to raise his finger. And he obliges. Four for Munaf. 275/7
	Harbhajan Singh	10	0	41	1	4.10	(1w)
	23.1 to Junaid Siddique, 70.1 kph, is that a stumping, third umpire is called off, Harbhajan gets the ball to ship away sharply from Junaid, who is beaten as he looks to play on the front foot, Dhoni is an exceptional stumper these days, he's whips off the bails in a jiffy and after several replays the third umpire sends Junaid on his way, much to the Mirpur crowd's disappointment, reward for Harbhajan who has bowled extremely well today 129/2
	YK Pathan	8	0	49	1	6.12	(2w)
	39.4 to Shakib Al Hasan, 88.5 kph, Shakib falls. Mirpur is silenced once again. Harbhajan takes the catch and puts it in his pocket. Yusuf makes the only noise emanating from the ground - he roars. Slow delivery, tossed up invitingly on middle and leg, and given the circumstances, Shakib had to go for that. He got under it, but couldn't quite go all the way. Harbhajan set himself up a few yars in from deep midwicket and pouched it. Pocketed it, would be more appropriate 234/4
	Yuvraj Singh	7	0	42	0	6.00	(1w)

Match details

Toss Bangladesh, who chose to field Points India 2, Bangladesh 0

Player of the match V Sehwag (India)

Umpires SJ Davis (Australia) and HDPK Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) TV umpire BR Doctrove (West Indies) Match referee RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka) Reserve umpire Asad Rauf (Pakistan)

Match notes

India innings Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 10.0 (Mandatory - 60 runs, 0 wicket) India: 50 runs in 8.5 overs (53 balls), Extras 4 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 53 balls (V Sehwag 25, SR Tendulkar 23, Ex 4) Powerplay 2: Overs 10.1 - 15.0 (Bowling side - 44 runs, 1 wicket) V Sehwag: 50 off 45 balls (7 x 4, 1 x 6) India: 100 runs in 14.3 overs (87 balls), Extras 6 Drinks: India - 107/1 in 16.0 overs (V Sehwag 61, G Gambhir 12) 2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 47 balls (V Sehwag 30, G Gambhir 19, Ex 1) India: 150 runs in 22.5 overs (137 balls), Extras 6 India: 200 runs in 31.2 overs (188 balls), Extras 12 V Sehwag: 100 off 94 balls (9 x 4, 1 x 6) 3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 50 balls (V Sehwag 22, V Kohli 22, Ex 6) Drinks: India - 224/2 in 34.0 overs (V Sehwag 104, V Kohli 41) Powerplay 3: Overs 34.1 - 39.0 (Batting side - 48 runs, 0 wicket) India: 250 runs in 36.2 overs (219 balls), Extras 15 3rd Wicket: 100 runs in 80 balls (V Sehwag 46, V Kohli 49, Ex 9) V Kohli: 50 off 46 balls (5 x 4) V Sehwag: 150 off 124 balls (13 x 4, 4 x 6) India: 300 runs in 41.5 overs (252 balls), Extras 15 3rd Wicket: 150 runs in 114 balls (V Sehwag 73, V Kohli 69, Ex 9) India: 350 runs in 46.5 overs (282 balls), Extras 19 3rd Wicket: 200 runs in 143 balls (V Sehwag 96, V Kohli 93, Ex 13) V Kohli: 100 off 83 balls (8 x 4, 2 x 6) Innings Break: India - 370/4 in 50.0 overs (V Kohli 100) Bangladesh innings Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 10.0 (Mandatory - 68 runs, 1 wicket) Over 0.4: Review by India (Bowling), Umpire - HDPK Dharmasena, Batsman - Tamim Iqbal (Struck down) Bangladesh: 50 runs in 4.5 overs (30 balls), Extras 15 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 30 balls (Tamim Iqbal 6, Imrul Kayes 29, Ex 15) Powerplay 2: Overs 10.1 - 15.0 (Bowling side - 25 runs, 0 wicket) Drinks: Bangladesh - 93/1 in 15.0 overs (Tamim Iqbal 25, Junaid Siddique 19) Bangladesh: 100 runs in 16.2 overs (99 balls), Extras 15 2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 67 balls (Tamim Iqbal 23, Junaid Siddique 27, Ex 0) Bangladesh: 150 runs in 27.1 overs (164 balls), Extras 17 Tamim Iqbal: 50 off 71 balls (3 x 4) 3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 47 balls (Tamim Iqbal 23, Shakib Al Hasan 26, Ex 1) Drinks: Bangladesh - 188/3 in 32.1 overs (Shakib Al Hasan 29) Bangladesh: 200 runs in 34.2 overs (207 balls), Extras 19 Shakib Al Hasan: 50 off 47 balls (4 x 4) Powerplay 3: Overs 42.1 - 47.0 (Batting side - 30 runs, 3 wickets) Bangladesh: 250 runs in 42.4 overs (257 balls), Extras 20