India defeated Bangladesh by nine wickets in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 at Edgbaston on Thursday to set up title clash against Pakistan. The defending champions chased down the 265-run target in 40.1 overs as the Bangladesh bowlers were sent on a leather hunt by the all-star Indian batting line-up.
Though Bangladesh were going great guns at one stage with 154/2 after 28 overs, they lost the plot in the middle overs. Indian skipper Virat Kohli took a gamble to bring in Kedar Jadhav to bowl which worked well. Jadhav gave India the breakthrough in his second over itself which helped the defending champions peg Bangladesh back.
Kohli, during the post-match press-conference, credited former
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the decision to bring in the off-spinner
at the crucial juncture. Kohli said that the game-changing decision was jointly
taken by him and Dhoni. Jadhav dismissed set batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur
Rahim after their 121-run stand to get India back on track in the match.
"Yeah, when moves like this pay off, I won't take the whole
credit. Obviously, I asked MS, as well, and we both decided that Kedar is a
good option at the moment, and he bowled really well. Credit to him.
"Kedar Jadhav doesn't bowl much in the nets, but he is a
smart cricketer. He knows where the batsmen get troubled, and if you can think
like a batter when you are bowling, it's obviously a bit of an advantage to any
bowler. So I think that today he executed plans perfectly."
Kohli was effusive in his praise for his new ball bowlers
Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
"Well, they were outstanding. Especially, the last two
games they have been terrific initially and in the later stages, as well, their
wicket-taking ability is something that the opposition is aware of.
"So they are always careful going hard against these two
guys, and yeah, their length after the Sri Lanka game has been impeccable. It's
been consistent, line close to the batsmen, always there with an opportunity to
get a wicket, as I mentioned.
Kohli said "Even in conditions which are not offering
too much, bowling such lines that we can produce wicket-taking
opportunities,"
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