Rajkot:Riding on the blistering knock by captain Rohit Sharma, 85 off 43 balls, India thrashed Bangladesh by eight wickets in the second T-20I to level the three-match series 1-1, here at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday.
Playing his 100th T20I for India, Rohit celebrated the landmark with a scintillating half-century which included six fours and as many sixes and thrashed the Bangladesh bowlers to all parts of the ground in a successful chase of 154.
Chasing an easy target of 154 for victory, India were off to a great start as the duo of Rohit and Shikhar played aggressively in the first powerplay. While Shikhar Dhawan (31) didn't looked in the best of touches, Rohit decided to carry the chase with fours and a sixes and raced to his fifty off just 23 balls.
At one point of time, it looked like India could chase the target without losing a wicket, then Dhawan was bowled by Aminul Islam to give Bangladesh a much-needed breather. Rohit and Dhawan had a 118-run stand for the first wicket.
After Dhawan's wicket, Rohit kept on thrashing bowlers and was looking good for his fifth T20 century but fell short in the end as he was caught by substitute Mohammad Mithun at deep mid-wicket off Aminul Islam in the 13th over.In the end, Shreyas Iyer smashed 24 off just 13 balls to remain unbeaten along with KL Rahul (8 not out) as India won with 26 balls to spare.
Earlier, Indian bowlers led by Yuzvendra Chahal made an impressive comeback to restrict Bangladesh to a sub-par 153 for 6.
Bangladesh could not capitalize on a good start as Chahal's (2-28) double breakthrough in the 13th over pegged the visitors back. However, a quick-fire 30 off 21 balls by skipperMahmudullah Riyad helped them cross the 150-mark.Liton Das (29 off 21 balls), Mohammad Naim (36 off 31 balls) and Soumya Sarkar 30 off 20 also contributed well with the bat for Bangladesh.
For India, Yuzvendra Chahal picked two wickets for 28 while Chahar , W Sundar and K Ahmed took one wicket each.Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was adjudged Man of the match for his match-winning knock. The three-match T20 series now stands at 1-1 and the final game will be played in Nagpur on November 10.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 153/6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Naim 36, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28); India 154/2 in 15.4 overs (Rohit Sharma 85; Aminul Islam 2/29)(UNI)
