Rohit Sharma: “Hitting length was probably the better option we thought after the Sri Lanka game. The bowlers executed their plans very well. We kept it very simple and did out basics right, which we didn’t do in the last game. We want improve as a fielding side. We have some work to do [with our catching]. I’m off to grab my 11 pm snack. Ta-ta!

“We need to find a way to get some boundaries in the middle overs. We are only one win away,” says Mahmudullah when asked how Bangladesh can stop their wretched run of form.

Vijay Shankar is the man of the match. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder says, “I have been looking forward to this opportunity. Bowling has given an extra edge to my game. Being with this team is a dream for any cricketer and it’s a proud moment for me.”

India win by 6 wickets! Fine comeback by India after being put in a state of shock by Kusal Perera. Manish Pandey gets a winning run with a single. India are now 6-0 up against Bangladesh in Twenty20 International cricket. Shikhar Dhawan put up yet another solid showing with the bat. India’s fielding left a lot to be desired but their bowlers were spot on – each and every one of them who rolled their arm today.

Bangladesh were scratchy with the bat with their batsmen taking far too much time in the middle to up the ante. They need to come up with an improved showing and their middle-over need to come up with a plan to fill the void left by Shakib Al Hasan. Rubel Hossain, though, bowled with a lot of heart and genuinely troubled the batsmen.

End of Over 18|IND 137/4 Mustafizur is brought back and Pandey cleverly runs the ball down to the third-man fence for a boundary. The left-armer then drags it short and wide and Pandey has all the time in the world to make room and crash the ball through extra-cover and into the ropes for a four. A quick single leaves India needing just three runs for a win.

End of Over 17|IND 126/4 Pandey dangerously chips the ball through cover to get a brace. Luckily for the batsman, the ball was in the air but went through the gap. Pandey kept strike with another run.

Over 16.4 | IND 123/4 Flick shot from Dhawan is miscued by Dhawan and he doesn’t get the elevation on this one. The ball goes many a mile in the air before falling safely into the hands of Liton Das at long-on. Maybe this has come a little too late in the day for the Bangladeshis. End of another fine, match-winning essay from Dhawan.

S Dhawan c Liton Das b Taskin Ahmed 55 (43)

End of Over 16|IND 120/3 Probably the last throw of the dice from Mahmudullah as Taskin Ahmed comes streaming in. Two full deliveries is followed by a short one and the Indians take three consecutive singles off it.

End of Over 16|IND 120/3 Nazmul bowls his second over. He beat Pandey’s edge with a lovely looping delivery that spun away from the batsman. There was a loud appeal but that was not the ball hitting the bat. Pandey then cashes in on a short delivery, pulling it away to the mid-wicket fence for a four. 20 needed from the last four overs.

End of Over 15|IND 113/3 Pandey gets off the mark with a couple, steering the ball to the third man region. Minimal risks from the batsmen as Dhawan gets a single and Pandey keeps strike with another one. Fine over from Rubel, giving away just five from it.

Over 14.1|IND 108/3 Raina goes! It’s a tame dismissal as Rubel is brought back into the attack and the veteran chips it straight to Hasan to short mid-wicket. It is the short ball that does the trick for Bangladesh. S Raina c Hasan b Rubel Hossain 28 (27)

End of Over 14|IND 108/2 Nazmul Islam comes on to bowl and a four wides further dents Bangladesh’s chances. Fortune slip away slowly and steadily as Mushfiqur misses a stumping chance, and the batsmen run a bye. Was that the chance Bangladesh were looking for? It looks that way now. nine from the over. The brilliant Dhawan completes yet another half-century

End of Over 13|IND 99/2 Mahmudullah brings himself on and Dhawan frees his arms again. The third delivery of the over was pitched marginally short but the southpaw was on it in a flash and muscled the ball over the deep mid-wicket fence for a six. The batsmen scored of every ball in the over, bringing 11 from it. 41 needed from 42 now.

End of Over 12|IND 88/2 Back-of-the-hand slow delivery by Mustafizur and Dhawan steps out. He doesn’t time the ball well and the ball safely landed in the vacant space at deep cover. Strange running as the batsmen only run a single. Good comeback from the left-armer as gives away only five singles off it. The boundaries have certainly dried up.

End of Over 11|IND 83/2 Mehdi Hasan continues. There is a hint of uneven bounce as the ball died down on Raina. There is yet another loud appeal from the bowler and the keeper as Dhawan misses his sweep shot, but the ball had clipped his arm. The last ball of the over witnesses another vociferous shout for leg-before as Dhawan steps out. The umpire remains unmoved. Fine over from the young offie, though.

Hang on...review taken by Bangladesh but the call is the umpire’s despite replays showing the ball just about clipping leg stump. Mahmudullah loses a review. Not out.

End of Over 10|IND 81/2 Mahmudullah gives Sarkar’s medium-pace bowling a run. It was turning out to be a good over with only four singles coming from the first five deliveries, but Raina pours cold water on it with a glorious lofted punch to the long-off fence for a four.

End of Over 9|IND 73/2 There is a massive shout from Mushfiqur and Hasan after Dhawan misses a flick from the bowler’s arm ball aimed at middle and leg. The off-spinner is slower through the air in this over and the batsmen squeeze out singles, five of them to be exact before a dot ball ends proceedings. Good comeback from Hasan

Yes, there have been quite a few on display today:

End of Over 8|IND 68/2 Wham! There goes another one over the ropes, latching on to a short delivery on leg stump by Taskin Ahmed. SIX more. The pacer once again struggles to get his length right and Dhawan’s one-legged flick takes the ball to the boundary ropes, behind square it’s a four. More short stuff on leg-stump by Ahmed. Couple of singles to end the over. Bangladesh need to break this partnership in the next two overs or India could run away with it.

End of Over 7|IND 55/2 It didn’t take long for Raina to switch into CSK mode. Quick pick-up and bat swing sees him tonk the ball over the deep square-leg fence for a SIX off Mehdi Hasan. The rest of the over has the left-hand duo not take any risks. The off-spinner ended the over well by milking a couple of dot balls with quicker deliveries aimed at middle and leg.

End of Over 6|IND 48/2 You cannot bowl short to Dhawan and cannot expect a punishment with the batsman in this kind of form. Rubel gets the treatment on the leg side through a pull shot. And...drop catch! Raina chipped the ball off his pads and Mehdi Hasan at leg slip almost pouches it but cannot latch onto it. How much will that prove to be a game changer?

Over 5.2|IND 40/2 OUT! Rishabh Pant departs and once again, it’s chopped on. The ball from Rubel was slightly wide outside off-stump, which invited the southpaw to go for a booming drive but the ball clips the inner edge of his bat and crashes onto the stumps. Bangladesh are well and truly in this.

End of over 5 | IND 40/1 Hasan starts off by darting a couple of deliveries off full length to Pant. A single later, Dhawan pierces the gap between short fine and square leg and the ball trickles to the boundary for a four. Pant keeps strike with a quickly taken single. Seven from the over.

Spin introduced by Mahmudullah as Mehdi Hasan is handed the ball.

End of over 4|IND 33/1 Bangladesh get the wicket they were looking for. OUT Another failure for Rohit Sharma as he chops on trying to run the ball to third man. Mustafizur gets the scalp. Rishabh Pant has been promoted to No 3 and he wastes no time getting in on the act, reading the bowler’s slow delivery, punching it to the long on fence for a four. The Delhi captain keeps strike with a miscued pull that lands at deep mid-wicket. Rohit Sharma b Mustafizur Rahman 17 (13)

End of over 3| IND 27/0 More easy runs as Rohit gets a thick edge of Rubel Hossain and the ball races away to the third man fence. The bowler makes a good comeback in the over, getting the ball to nip back into Dhawan. He follows that up with a gem that has Rohit beaten all ends up, rising on him from length at genuine pace. He once again has the Indian captain in spot of bother with a ball that straightened from leg stump. Dhawan kept strike with a quick single.

End of over 2 | IND 18/0 India are off to a solid start. Shikhar Dhawan continues to look in solid touch, bringing up a boundary in the first over. Rohit Sharma follows suit in the second over with a solid pull shot, one bounce and into the long on fence. The fourth ball of the same over is also dispatched to the boundary ropes as Taskin Ahmed goes short and wide, allowing the Indian captain to free his arms. Easy runs these for India and Ahmed loses his length somewhat.

India’s bowlers stuck to a good plan and deployed the short ball effectively. But their fielding left a lot to be desired. Bangladesh were lackluster with the bat and only a solid bowling display can keep them in the game.

End of over 20 |BAN 139/8 Thakur bowls the last over. Rubel Hossain is run out at the non striker’s end. Just three singles come off the first five balls before the bowler gets a yorker horribly wrong, wayward wide. Taskin pulls a short delivery to mid wicket for a single and that ends proceedings for the Bangladeshis.

Rubel Hossain Run out 0 (1)

End of over 19 |BAN 134/7 Unadkat charges in for his last over and Bangladesh target him. First ball is pulled to the boundary Taskin pulls it past mid on and to the fence, four. Sabbir then pulls a short ball, which just beats the man at deep square and it just about goes over the ropes for a SIX.

Some bizarre cricket on display in the final phase of the over. First, an unfair wide, then a wayward full toss from the bowler that gave the Bangladeshis an extra run. Then, Hannibal raises his finger as Dinesh Karthik appeals for a caught behind. OUT Sabbir Rahman immediately takes a review but replays shows that the ball took the edge but 13 come off it.

S Rahman c Karthik b Unadkat 30 (26)

End of over 18 |BAN 121/6 Thakur comes on to roll his arm for his third over. Dot balls from the first three as Sabbir now wilts under pressure. The Mumbai pacer deceives him with his change of pace. A pull from the right-hander finally gets him a single. Taskin faces the last two balls and keeps strike with a pull to fine leg. Another excellent over for India as just two runs come off it.

End of over 17 |BAN 119/6 Unadkat is brought on for his third over and Sabbir cuts the ball beautifully behind square to bring up a boundary. OUT Mehdi Hasan’s stay at the crease lasts for balls as he tries to heave a slow delivery out of the park. Easy catch for Manish Pandey. Taskin Ahmed comes to the crease. Tidy finish to the over by the left-armer. Eight from it.

Mehdi Hasan c Pandey b Unadkat 3 (4)

Elsewhere:

End of over 16 |BAN 111/5 Liton Das’s long, laboured stay ends as a heave from the batsman goes high up in the air and Raina makes up for for his earlier drop catch with a neat take at long off. OUT Once again, Chahal puts the break on the scoring as, restricting the Tigers to just four singles and taking a wicket. India needed this over badly after three expensive ones. Liton Das c Raina b Chahal 34 (30)

End of over 15 |BAN 107/4 Vijay Shankar is also brought back for his final over. Once again, he uses the short ball with good effect, deploying one with pace and then a slower one. Both of them deceived the batsmen. He could have got a wicket too as Sabbir’s chip went many a mile, the bowler ran 20 yards and dived full length. Alas, he couldn’t hold on to the catch but full marks for trying. The batsmen run two.

A good over then goes bad as Vijay Shankar bowls two wides and follows that up by overstepping. Sabbir finishes the over with a ramp shot that goes over the head of short-fine and into the ropes, four. 11 from it. It’s been a fine spell for Bangladesh and once again, Indians have been sloppy to say the least.

End of over 14 |BAN 96/4 Washington is brought back into the attack to bowl his final over and Liton welcomes him by using his feet and chipping the ball to the boundary. A desperate attempt from Pant isn’t enough. More urgency shown by the batsmen in this over as they use their feet well and rotate the strike. Sabbir keeps strike with a single and 11 came from the over. Thant makes it 21 from the last two. Bangladesh need more of this. The 18-year-old finishes with figures of 4-0-23-0.

End of over 13 |BAN 85/4 The ariel ball simply don’t carry to fielders as Das milks out three from the first two deliveries from Thakur. The pacer is getting some movement from good length. We also saw Vijay Shankar briefly exploit that. Pressure is telling on the Bangladesh batsmen, who have gone nearly five overs without a boundary and Sabbir breaks the shackles by punching the ball past mid-off. What a shot! It was a welcome boundary for the Tigers.

What do you think?

End of over 12 |BAN 75/4 In this over, Chahal rushes the batsman and Sabbir Rahman tries and fails at taking the attack to the Indian spinner. Just two from the first four along with a rare wide. He ends the over with a full length delivery that is dug out Liton on time. Another fine over for the Indians.

End of over 11 |BAN 72/4 Vijay Shankar oversteps and then follows that with a wide. But he continues to show that small setbacks won’t deter him. Just three runs from the first four deliveries and Mahmadullah chips the ball to deep cover, where the waiting hands of Shardul Thakur snap the catch and Bangladesh are four down. OUT! End of a miserable stay at the crease for the new skipper and smart bowling this from Vijay Shankar. He ends the over with a dot ball.

Mahmudullah c Thakur b Vijay Shankar 1 (8)

End of over 10 |BAN 69/3 Oh boy! Chahal is creating all sort of problems for Mahmudullah. The Bangladesh skipper is beaten in the first two deliveries he faced and gets off strike in the third. Liton lofts the ball to deep-square for a single and Mahmudullah plays out his fourth dot ball of the over. Top over, just three from it.

End of over 9 |BAN 66/3 What do you know? After being denied of his international wicket in his first over, Vijay Shankar is carted by the Bangladesh batsmen. A length delivery first up is driven to the boundary for a four by Liton. Then Mushfiqur jumps onto a short ball and he pulls the ball many a mile over cow cover, SIX!

Mushfiqur comes down the track and chases a wide delivery but misses. Dinesh Karthik is convinced there was an edge and immediately opts for a review. The decision goes upstairs....OUT! Neither the batsmen, fielders or umpires are sure what is going on. Neither am I. Mushfiqur departs and Vijay Shankar gets a well-deserved wicket.

Mushfiqur Rahim c Karthik b Vijay Shankar 18 (14)

India’s poor fielding has not gone down well with the good folks on Twitter.

End of over 8 |BAN 55/2 Chahal continues and he makes an excellent comeback, teasing Mushfiqur from the bacl of the hand and varying his pace well. Two dots and a single from the first three. Liton then gets off strike by coming down the track and drilling it to deep cover for a single. And...the lack of boundaries nearly resulted in a wicket Dinesh Karthik’s throw narrowly missed the stumps; Liton was short of the crease by a few centimeters. Tidy from Chahal and it’s just four from the over.

End of over 7 |BAN 51/2 More shuffling from Rohit Sharma as Vijay Shankar is brought on. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder could have had four wickets in this over, believe it or not. Mushfiqur nearly chopped on, Liton Das got a leading edge and the ball landed safely in the mid-wicket region. Raina at mid-off and Washington at fine-leg dropped simple chances (yes, two drop catches in an over) and the batsmen survive. Sloppy, poor and unbecoming of a top team by the Indian fielders.

End of over 6 |BAN 44/2 Chahal is brought on by Rohit Sharma. The leg-spinner starts well with two dot balls, both slower ones. Mushfiqur then decides he has had enough and counters it with a powerful reverse sweep, four. Chahal gets his length wrong and this time, Mushfiqur pulls it to the deep mid-wicket fence, another four. Chahal ends the over with a slightly quicker one, full length. Single.

End of over 5 |BAN 35/2 Thakur comes on and straight away, Tamim is on the on the attack, having clearly watched Kusal Perera take the pacer to the cleaners in the last game. The Mumbai pacer traps him leg-before. Tamim shuffles across the stumps, misses it and the ball was crashing into middle stump....NOT OUT! Review is taken by the batsman and call is reversed. Replays showed that the ball was not hitting in line. The Indians wear a puzzled look on their faces.

Tamim then comes into his own. The third delivery was a loose one, which was caressed through the covers for a four. Another four as a short delivery is slapped down the ground, Matthew Hayden style, and the ball beats the chase of mid-off.

And....Oh Tamim! What have you done? The Bangladesh opener can’t connect his hook shot and the ball sails to the palms of Unadkat at short-fine. Soft dismissal, one that Tamim will be kicking himself for having brought up back-to-back fours.

Tamim Iqbal c Unadkat b Thakur 15 (16)

End of over 4 |BAN 27/1 Washington continues and he starts off by tying Tamim down by skidding it into the batsman. No room for the batsman and it’s two dots in a row. The third delivery is short and wide but Tamim fails to capitalise on it and hits straight to the cover fielder. Frustrated, the left-hander goes for an inside-out shot but he still can’t beat the infield. Single is taken and Liton Das ends the over with a clever sweep shot – a short delivery that was hoicked over short-fine that went to the boundary.

End of over 3 |BAN 22/1 Unadkat runs in to bowl his second over and this time, it’s a bad start from the left-armer, who continues to drift on leg-stump. After Tamim paid his Brain Lara tribute with a one-legged hook to take a single, Sarkar pounces on a full delivery, flicking it over fine leg for a six. The third delivery is straighter and Sarkar sees it coming and steps down the track and lofts it down the ground. The ball doesn’t reach the boundary but the batsmen run a couple.....WICKET! A wide delivery later, Unadkat’s leg stump ploy pays off as Sarkar chips one straight to Chahal at short-fine. The wrist-spinner takes a sharp low catch, diving to his right. Liton Das is off the mark with a tentative single.

S Sarkar c Chahal b Unadkat 14 (12)

End of over 2 |BAN 10/0 Washington is once again given the new ball. He starts of with a half-tracker, way outside off stump and is duly punished by Sarkar, who gets a boundary. The Indian youngster, though, makes a terrific comeback in the over, tossing the ball up and sliding it in, earning five dot balls. Just four from it.

End of over 1 |BAN 6/0 Sparse crowd welcome the two teams at Colombo. Good control from Unadkat as he beats Tamim and Sarkar’s edge. The second delivery was drifted on leg, which allowed Tamim to get off strike. Sarkar then got off strike through a Pandey misfield. Then came a big let off as confusion between Pandey and Washington in calling for a catch earned Sarkar a reprieve. The Bangladeshi opener went for a wild hoick over mid-wicket but the ball got his top-edge. But that was poor from the Indian fielders.

Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar take strike. Jaydev Unadkat to start proceedings for India.

Teams

“I believe in backing the players,” says Rohit Sharma confirming that India are unchanged for this match despite that chastening defeat two days back.

Here are the playing XIs:

INDIA: Rohit (C), Dhawan, Raina, Pandey, Karthik (WK), Pant, Washington, Vijay Shankar, Shardul, Unadkat, Chahal

BANGLADESH: T Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah (C), M Rahim (WK), L Das, S Rahman, M Hasan, N Islam, R Hossain, T Ahmed, M Rahman

TOSS

Rohit Sharma wins the toss and says his team will chase what Bangladesh set... Mahmudullah says he was keen on chasing as well. Not surprising, because batting did seem easier in the second innings on Tuesday. And this Indian team, even without Dhoni and Kohli, will enjoy chasing more.

06:25 pm: Soon approaching the toss and team news from Colombo...

The first match of this series was the story of two left-handed opening batsmen - Shikhar Dhawan’s blistering counterattack and Kusal Perera’s big-hitting from the word go.

Praveen Sudevan wrote about that here:

06:20 pm: India have never lost against Bangladesh in the shortest format of the game (how did the Tigers not win the World T20 match in Bengaluru, we still don’t know!) It’s a chance for the men in green to reverse the trend against a under-strength Indian team.

Meanwhile, a very happy birthday to Harmanpreet Kaur!

Welcome...

Hello and welcome to the live updates of the second Nidahas Trophy match between India and Bangladesh at Colombo on Thursday. It was not as though Rohit Sharma and Co didn’t give a good account of themselves in the first game. Despite missing so many key names, the batting once again came good. However, Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant were scratchy at the crease. Indians were around 30 runs short, which eventually proved to be the difference between the two teams.

Kusal Perera brutal assault ought to have left a few scars and left some of the cricket fans from the 1990s like yours truly reminisce/shudder at a classic Sanath Jayasuriya special. India were a bowler light on Tuesday and Mohammad Siraj might make his way into the side today. As for Bangladesh, it is a question of how they can cope with the loss of their talisman, Shakib Al Hasan, who couldn’t recover from his injury on time before the start of the series. Stern test for Mahmudullah. Remember, Bangladesh are yet to register a win against today’s opponents; they have faced each other five times.