Defending champions off to a strong start

Well India would have been a touch nervous entering into the match considering the upsets generated in the first few matches of the tournament.Bangladesh have beaten India at a similar stage in 2007 and still that defeat hurts Indian cricket.Dhoni,nevertheless looked confident,won the toss and chose to bat on a good Trent bridge pitch even though there was no match won by the team defending their target in this event.India opted for an extra fifth bowler with Ojha playing and R.P.Singh getting the royal axe.Sehwag wasn't fit for this opener while Zaheer returned to the side after an injury.Rohit and Gambhir gave a solid start with Rohit doing the bulk of the scoring and Gambhir providing boundaries when required.Spin was introduced and rohit trying to dominate them ,threw away his wicket.Dhoni came at one down and stabilised the score.But the run rate was always kept under check by the spinners.Dhoni wasn't at his fluent best and gambhir too with his high standards couldn't keep the runs ticking in.Dhoni just when was looking dangerous was done in by Naem.Yuvraj came to the crease with the indian team at 113/2 after 15 overs.He just did what was expected of him.India's last four overs yielded 59 runs and Yuvraj smacked 4 sixes off a 18 ball 41 and Irfan too didn't do that badly either.India powered on to a big total of 180/5.



Bangladesh would have had eyes on a quick start to chase this one.Siddique and Tamim Iqbal brought back memeories of 2007 world cup scoring at a great rate.Yusuf was vital in breaking that partnership removing the dangerous Tamim Iqbal.Ashraful couldn't get his touch back and thus hold out to Gambhir off Ishant.Ojha then stepped into the party and ripped off 2 quick wickets of Siddique and all rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan.Bangladesh could never quite recover and Ojha turned a remarkable spell and picked up 4 useful wickets,priceless indeed.Zaheer didn't do that badly and all other bowlers chipped in with useful performances.Though yuvraj fumbled a chance he more than made up for it by picking a great catches offered by Naem and Mahmudullah.India completed a comfortable 25 run win without any major hiccups.GO GO India!!