The breed, prized for profitability and an ability to adapt to climate change, garners celebrity status in the Central Asian country
asia2 hours ago
For someone who had been left in the cold for 14 months, Ravindra Jadeja couldn't have chosen a better stage to show the fire that still burns within him.
It's the fire that reduced the Bangladesh Tigers to ashes in Dubai on Friday, bringing Jadeja back into contention for a place in the 2019 World Cup squad.
The left-arm spinner hadn't played a one-day game since July 2017.
The rise of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal put a question mark over Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin's ODI future.
And if Hardik Pandya had not suffered the back injury during the Pakistan game, Jadeja (4/29) probably would have watched Friday's Asia Cup Super Four clash on TV.
But there he was on Friday, breaking the back of Bangladeshi batting with clever change of pace and variations.
Jadeja's brilliance left Bangladesh in a hopeless position (101 for seven) before a 66-run eight wicket partnership between captain Mashrafe Mortaza (26, 32 balls, 2 sixes) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (42, 50 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes) saved the Tigers from a major batting embarrassment as they ended their innings at 173 all out in 49.1 overs.
Then Rohit Sharma (83 no, 104 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes) walked in and turned his bat into a wand, leaving everyone mesmerised with his effortless grace.
The Bangladeshi bowlers looked helpless as the Rohit-inspired India chased down the target in 36.2 overs, losing only three wickets (Shikhar Dhawan 40, 47 balls, 4 fours, 1 six), Ambati Rayudu (13, 28 balls, 1 four) and MS Dhoni (33, 37 balls, 3 fours).
Earlier, India's new ball bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/32) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/37) - didn't let Rohit down after he put Bangladesh in.
The Bangladesh openers, handicapped by the injury of the prolific Tamim Iqbal, found the Indian bowlers too hot to handle.
Liton Das (7) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto (7) looked out of their depth and soon threw their wickets away.
It was then that the Jadeja show began.
Rohit brought him in the 10th over and the Baroda all-rounder struck with his fourth ball of the match.
Shakib Al Hassan (17, 12 balls, 3 fours) welcomed Jadeja back into one-day cricket with a delightful cover drive and then swept him for another boundary.
But Jadeja had the last laugh in the next ball when the left-hander mistimed his sweep shot and Shikhar Dhawan took a simple catch at short mid-wicket.
The left-arm-spinner then rolled back the years as he got the wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun and Mosaddek Hossain, leaving Bangladesh in a precarious position.
But Mehidy Hasan and Mortaza gave the Bangladeshi fans something to cheer about with their partnership.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com
Scoreboard
Bangladesh
L Das c Jadhav b Kumar 7
N Hossain c Dhawan b Bumrah 7
Shakib c Dhawan b Jadeja 17
M Rahim c Chahal b Jadeja 21
M Mithun lbw b Jadeja 9
M Riyad lbw b Kumar 25
M Hossain c Dhoni b Jadeja 12
M Mortaza c Bumrah b Kumar 26
M Hasan c Dhawan b Bumrah 42
Mr Rahman c Dhawan b Bumrah 3
R Hossain not out 1
Extras: (b1, nb1, w1) 3
Total: (all out; 49.1 overs) 173
Fall: 1-15, 2-16, 3-42, 4-60, 5-65, 6-101, 7-101, 8-167, 9-169
Bowling: Kumar 10-1-32-3(1w) Bumrah 9.1-1-37-3, Chahal 10-0-40-0, Jadeja 10-0-29-4 (1nb), Yadav 10-0-34-0
India:
R. Sharma not out 83
S. Dhawan lbw b Shakib 40
A. Rayudu c Rahim b Rubel 13
M. Dhoni c Mithun b Mortaza 33
D. Karthik not out 1
Extras: (lb1, nb2, w1) 4
Total: (for three wkts; 36.2 overs) 174
Did not bat: K. Jadhav, R. Jadeja, B. Kumar, K. Yadav, Y. Chahal, J. Bumrah
Fall: : 1-61, 2-106, 3-170
Bowling: Mortaza 5-0-30-1 (1nb, 1w), Mehidy 10-0-38-0, Rahman 7-0-40-0 (1w), Shakib 9.2-0-44-1, Rubel 5-0-21-1
Result: India win by seven wickets
Toss: India
Umpires: Ahsan Raza (PAK) and Gregory Brathwaite (WIS)
TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
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