BIRMINGHAM, June 15: Rohit Sharma stamped his class with an authoritative hundred in the company of magnificent Virat Kohli as India annihilated Bangladesh by nine wickets to set up a bumper summit showdown with arch-rivals Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, here today.
The lazy elegance of Rohit (123 not out off 129 balls) coupled with the unmatched swagger of skipper Kohli (96 not out off 78 balls) ensured India treat Bangladesh�s attack with utter disdain, knocking off a modest target of 265 in 40.1 overs.
This was after some inspired bowling changes from Kohli, including the introduction of part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav, which changed the complexion of the game with Bangladesh managing only 264 for seven in 50 overs.
A miracle was needed for the over-rated mediocre pace attack to stop the Indian line-up. That didn�t happen as Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (46) added 87 for the opening wicket.
And then came skipper Kohli, who treated the opposition attack as a bunch of net bowlers, adding 178 runs for the second wicket off 153 balls.
The Indian captain also reached a personal milestone of 8000 ODI runs in his 183rd match.
Rohit�s innings will be remembered for those pull shots and the amount of time he had to execute each one of them.
But Kohli�s innings will be specifically remembered for two shots, or rather two pushes, off Mustafizur Rahaman � they were the best of the Indian innings.
One that went straight past the bowler and the other was pushed through the vacant mid-off area. It was the best way of showing who the boss is.
The gulf between the two teams was evident in the manner the Indian batsmen toyed with the Bangladesh attack.
Anything short outside the off-stump was cut with ferocity. If the short ball was on leg and middle, it was dutifully pulled by Rohit, Kohli or Dhawan.
They played all sorts of pull shots � Rohit primarily hit behind the square, Dhawan through the square and Virat in front of the square.
Rohit, who is playing his first international tournament in six months, once again showed during his 11th ODI hundred as to why he is so highly rated.
There were 15 boundaries and a hooked six off Mustafizur which brought up his hundred. Kohli, who finished the match with a boundary, hit 13 of them in all.
Earlier, Jadhav�s �golden arm� provided decisive twin blows, helping India restrict Bangladesh opting to bowl. Jadhav�s 2/22 in six overs brought India back in the game as he took the crucial wickets of Tamim Iqbal (70) and Mushfiqur Rahim (61) with his fastish off-breaks.
SCORECARD
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal b Jadhav 70, Soumya Sarkar b Kumar 0, Sabbir Rahman c Jadeja b Kumar 19, Mushfiqur Rahim c Kohli b Jadhav 61, Shakib Al Hasan c Dhoni b Jadeja 15, Mahmudullah b Bumrah 21, Mosaddek Hossain c & b Bumrah 15, Mashrafe Mortaza not out 30, Taskin Ahmed not out 10; Extras: (LB-9, W-7, NB-2, Pen-5) 23. Total: (For 7 wkts; 50 overs) 264. Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-36, 3-159, 4-182, 5-184, 6-218, 7-229. Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-1-53-2, Jasprit Bumrah 10-1-39-2, R Ashwin 10-0-54-0, Hardik Pandya 4-0-34-0, Ravindra Jadeja 10-0-48-1, Kedar Jadhav 6-0-22-2.
India: Rohit Sharma not out 123, Shikhar Dhawan c Mosaddek Hossain b Mashrafe Mortaza 46, V Kohli not out 96; Extras: 0. Total: (1 wicket; 40.1 overs) 265. Fall of wickets: 1-87. Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza
8-0-29-1, Mustafizur Rahman 6-0-53-0, Taskin Ahmed 7-0-49-0, Rubel Hossain 6-0-46-0, Shakib Al Hasan 9-0-54-0, Mosaddek Hossain 2-0-13-0, Mahmudullah 1-0-10-0, Sabbir Rahman 1.1-0-11-0. � PTI
