Gwalior last hosted an international contest all the way back in 2010, when Sachin Tendulkar scored the first double-century in men’s ODIs. Fourteen years on from that historic encounter, international cricket returned to the Madhya Pradesh city as the first T20I between India and Bangladesh took place at the brand new Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium.
India defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets with 49 balls to spare in the opening game of the three-match T20I series at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior. It was another poor show in the powerplay from Bangladesh as they managed only 39 runs in the first six overs after being asked to bat, and eventually finished with a paltry total of 127. India, on the other hand, scored 71 runs in the powerplay and galloped to the target in 11.5 overs.
Bangladesh were without their highest run-getter and highest wicket-taker – Shakib Al Hasan – who has announced his retirement from the T20 format. They surely rued his experience as Bangladesh’s scorecard read a grim 70/5 after 11 overs.
The batting department has let Bangladesh down a lot in the recent past, and the trend is clearly continuing. Perhaps the most appalling of all wickets was that of Mahmudullah, who gave express quick Mayank Yadav the charge only to end up skewing the ball to deep cover off the toe end of the bat.
The Asian Tigers needed the senior pro to hold fort after the loss of early wickets but he let his team down on this occasion with an ambitious shot played prematurely in his innings.