Match Center

The caravan now moves to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi for the 2nd T20I between India and Bangladesh. After an engrossing Test series that the home side won 2-0 in fantastic fashion, the 1st T20I promised more of an even contest but Bangladesh were thumped by a great mix of youth and experience in the Indian lineup. The Bangla Tigers will be hoping to bounce back quickly in Delhi where we can expect a run-fest if recent matches are to go by and given how much cricket Bangladesh play at home, they aren't quite accustomed to flat pitches and lack a bit of power up the order and at the death to really score big. India on the other hand have no such issue as playing in the Indian T20 League has instilled a sense of fearlessness in the mind of this pretty young side. Talking about the first game, India put Bangladesh into bat on a decent-looking wicket but Arshdeep Singh was at his destructive best, knocking over both the openers to set the tone for the home side. The bowlers controlled the middle phase well enough and Varun Chakaravarthy picked up three wickets in total to make sure that Bangladesh couldn't build a big stand. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan were the only two batters to cross the 20-run mark with the latter really playing a lone hand towards the end. We also got to see spee-demon Mayank Yadav in action and he picked up a wicket on debut as well. The run chase though was a stark contrast to the first innings as India went berserk from the start. The openers were quick off the blocks and then the experienced likes of skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya played a couple of quick cameos with the latter scoring 39 off just 16 balls as India chased down a target of 128 runs in just under 12 overs. Expect more aggressive cricket from India as they look to round off the series in Delhi itself and not leave things for the final game. Bangladesh will need to show some aggression of their own, especially with the bat and take India head on if they are to level the series. An engrossing contest is up on the cards, who are you backing?