India hammered Bangladesh by 86 runs in the second T20I to take an unbeatable lead in the series.
Invited to bat first, the hosts found themselves struggling on 45/3 at the end of the powerplay. However, the duo of Nitish Reddy and Rinku Singh led India’s recovery with a superb partnership of 108 runs for the fourth wicket.
While Reddy smashed 74 off 34 balls, Rinku returned with 53 off 29 balls. Thanks to their dazzling half-centuries and Hardik Pandya’s crucial cameo (32 off 19), India racked up a mammoth 221/9 on the board.
Defending the total, the Indian bowlers did exceptionally well as a unit to restrict Bangladesh to a paltry 135/9 in 20 overs.
After the game, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali hailed the foresightedness of the Indian team management and asked his national side to learn from it.
"The thought process is very important, which is missing in Pakistani cricket. India rested Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal but nobody rests in our team. So, please learn something from India," Basit said on his YouTube channel.
"The kind of sixes that Nitish hit should be called 'Athhe' and not sixes. And then Rinku Singh is Michael Bevan after all. Gautam Gambhir's thinking has been a success. I am not saying that he will win the World Cup straight away. Even if he flops, Gautam won't stop backing him because they pick players and make them and this is the best example of that," he added.
With this victory, India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. The Men in Blue will aim to sweep the series by winning the third and final T20I in Hyderabad on Saturday (October 12).