Sports Reporter :India registered an easy 45-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening match of the Asia Cup Twenty20 at the flood-lit Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday.Sent into bat first, India piled up a healthy 166 for the loss of six wickets in the allotted 20 overs and then they restricted Bangladesh to 121 for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs Sabbir Rahman hit a polished 44 from 32 balls including two fours and two sixes.Ashish Nehra captured three wickets instead of 37 runs.Earlier, India made a shaky start as they lost their early three wickets for 42 runs.Al-Amin Hossain dismissed Shikhar Dhawan for just two runs.Then Virat Kohli (8) was caught at the mid-off by Mahmudullah Riyad off Mashrafe Bin Mortaza when India’s score was 22 for the loss of two wickets.Later, Suresh Raina (13) was cleanly bowled out by Mahmudullah Riyad when India’s score was 42 for the loss of three wickets.Opener Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh contributed 55 runs for the fourth wicket partnership before Yuvraj Singh (15) was caught at the deep mid-wicket by Soumya Sarkar off Shakib Al Hasan when India’s total was 97 for the loss of four wickets.After dismissal of Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya built a notable partnership. They put on together 61 runs for the fifth wicket stand before Sharma was caught at the deep mid-wicket by Soumya Sarkar off Al-Amin Hossain when India’s score was 158 for the loss of five wickets.Rohit Sharma hammered a stormy 83. His 55-ball innings was ornamented with seven fours and three sixes. After departure of Rohit Sharma, Pandya could stay at the crease for a short period as he was caught at the long-on by Mahmudullah Riyad off Al-Amin Hossain when India’s total was 158 for the loss of six wickets.Pandya hit a quick-fire 31 from 18 balls featuring four fours and a sixer.Al-Amin Hossain was the peak of the Bangladeshi bowlers. He grabbed three wickets at the cost of 37 runs.
