Kohli stars as India trump Bangladesh in last-ball thriller

India survived a nail-biting encounter at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night as the Men in Blue narrowly edged past Bangladesh by just five runs. Virat Kohli shone with the bat once again in the rain-curtailed Super 12 matchup as the number three scored his third half-century of the tournament to take India to 184 for six at the halfway stage.

Litton Das led Bangladesh’s response with a dazzling half-century, but the opener’s run-out after a lengthy rain break took the sting out of the run-chase, with Shakib al Hasan’s side suffering another heart-breaking defeat against India in a T20 World Cup.

Das scored 56 of Bangladesh’s 60 runs in the powerplay as he torched the Indian seamers on both sides of the wicket to race away to a 21-ball half-century. The opener took Bangladesh to 66 for no loss in seven overs before a lengthy rain break broke the momentum of their chase. The Tigers had a revised target of 151 in 16 overs after the 1-hour delay, and Shakib al Hasan’s side were handed an immediate setback with KL Rahul running out Litton Das on the second ball after the resumption with a brilliant direct hit from the boundary.

Bangladesh lost a further five wickets for 24 runs through the middle as they looked to get ahead of the run rate. Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed kept Bangladesh in the contest with a few handy strikes, but Arshdeep Singh held his nerve for the Men in Blue in the final over as Rohit Sharma’s side secured a narrow five-run victory.

Earlier, India were put under pressure against the new ball after being made to bat first by Bangladesh, with Taskin Ahmed extracting plenty of movement off the surface. The pacer bowled four overs on the trot to start the innings and passed the outside edge on many occasions as India managed just 42 runs in the opening seven overs for the loss of one wicket. KL Rahul scored only 23 runs off his first 22 balls as he looked to see off the new ball, but the opener eventually cut loose in the ninth over bowled by Shoriful Aslam, which went for 24 runs.

Rahul was later dismissed on 50 by Shakib al Hasan, but his momentum was continued by Suryakumar Yadav and later Virat Kohli through the back half of the innings. Yadav played an invaluable cameo off 30 off 16 deliveries, while Kohli batted through the innings, helping India score 65 runs in the final six overs.

This win takes India to the top of Group 2 with six points, and another victory in their final Super 12 match against Zimbabwe in Melbourne will guarantee their spot in the semi-finals.