Following India’s win over Bangladesh in the second T20I, batter Rinku Singh said that the ball was gripping the surface initially and was not coming on the bat properly. A fine all-round performance from Team India, particularly Nitish Kumar Reddy, helped the Men in Blue secure an 86-run win over Bangladesh in the second T20I at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. After the game in a post-match press conference, Rinku said, “When match started the ball was not coming properly to the bat and once we got the momentum we started to hit. The ball was gripping the surface but once we hit some sixes the momentum changed.”
Rinku said that the coach Gautam Gambhir, who worked closely with him as a mentor in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has given him freedom to play the way he wants to.
“When I come out to bat I look to score singles and look for bad balls to hit. The team is important, not me. The team should win the match,” elaborated Rinku on his approach as a batter.
On the possibility of playing all three formats for India, Rinku, who has played both ODIs and T20Is for India, said, “I see myself in all formats and I am ready for every opportunity.”
Coming to the match, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl first. India was reduced to 41/3 at one point, but Nitish (74 in 34 balls) and Rinku Singh (53 in 29 balls, with five fours and three sixes) put on a match-saving stand of 108 runs. Hardik Pandya (32 in 19 balls, with two fours and two sixes) played a fine cameo to power India to 221/9 in their 20 overs.
Rishad Hossain (3/55) and Taskin Ahmed (2/16) were the top bowlers for Bangladesh.
In the run-chase of 222 runs, Bangladesh initially kept up with the run-rate, but lost wickets continuously. Except Mahmadullah (41 in 39 balls, with three sixes), nobody could really play a decent knock and Bangladesh ended with 135 on the board with nine wickets lost. India won by 86 runs.
Varun Chakravarthy (2/19) and Nitish (2/23) were among the top bowlers for India. Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar and Riyan Parag got a wicket each.
India has won the three-match series 2-0.
Nitish won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his fine all-round show.
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