The Men In Blue edged Bangladesh in a nail-biting contest by five runs, to strengthen their chances of a semifinal slot at the T20 World Cup.
India, who were invited to bat first by Shakib Al Hasan, lost skipper Rohit Sharma cheaply for 2.
However, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli slammed respective half-centuries, riding on which India scored a mammoth 184/6 in 20 overs.
Bangladesh responded brilliantly with Litton Das leading the 185-run chase.
The batter went to slam a 21-ball half-century, providing his side a real chance of victory before rain intervened.
The action eventually resumed with Bangladesh being handed a revised target of 151 in 16 overs.
However, Bangladesh lost the plot with a flurry of rash strokes that led to a total collapse.
As a result, they could only manage 145/6 in 16 overs.
Gavaskar blames reckless Bangladesh
Sunil Gavaskar felt it was Bangladesh who lost the contest, rather India winning.
“When rain intervened, they were 66 in seven overs, so we are taking about more than nine runs per over and they were scoring quite comfortably with 10 wickets in hand.”
“And suddenly, when the target was reduced by almost 33 runs, they somehow seemed to have panicked.”
“The asking rate was still the same as when they began their innings.”
“Instead of playing smart cricket, they tried to hit a six just about every ball, trying to target the short square boundaries.”
“The Indians bowled cleverly, just out of the arc of the big shots. Hence, the shots, which otherwise would have gone for sixes were caught at long on and deep mid-wicket,” he added.
“Yes, India kept their nerves, but it was Bangladesh’s batting where they panicked and tried to play too many glory shots.”
“If they had played smart cricket, worked the ball around for twos, they would have got 10 runs an over and that’s all that they needed,” he concluded.
With the win, India climbed to the top of Group 2 points table as they now have six points from four matches.
They will now play Zimbabwe at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
