Raina on song

India, chasing 284 for victory, wobbled a bit before Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir put on 139 runs for the third wicket to help the team home. K. C. Vijaya Kumar reports.

Form and a sliver of fortune helped Suresh Raina relish a warm night in Karachi on June 28. The southpaw’s second ODI hundred (116 n.o., 107b, 11x4, 3x6) helped India defeat Bangladesh by seven wickets in the STAR Cricket Asia Cup’s semifinal league match.

It was in fact Raina’s second hundred from three matches and he might well hope to replicate his good work on the Karachi turf at other venues as well.

Chasing Bangladesh’s 283 for six in 50 overs, M. S. Dhoni’s men wobbled a bit as Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma perished, leaving India blinking a bit at 56 for two. However, Raina and Gautam Gambhir (90, 84b, 10x4, 1x6) put on 139 runs for the third wicket to help India home in 43.2 overs.

Both Raina and Gambhir had reprieves on a wretched day for fielders. Raina was dropped on 16 and Gambhir on 56, while bowler Mortaza fumed.

Gambhir, who was initially reined in with a packed offside cordon and a short mid-wicket that cut off the singles on the leg side, opened up gradually. Later he even charged down the pitch to loft over extra cover. He, however, failed to keep his on-drive down and was out to Farhad.

Raina, however, could not be denied his century. He hoisted and flicked left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak to reach the three-figure mark.

Raina deservedly bagged the ‘Man of the Match’ award.

The match was not just about Raina, as Alok Kapali early on scored his maiden ODI hundred (115, 96b, 10x4, 5x6). His knock was built on imaginative strokeplay. He was also helped by India’s slipshod fielding and wayward seamers.

Kapali’s 112-run partnership with Mahmudullah for the sixth-wicket helped Bangladesh post a challenging total.

Kapali drove on the up and with quick bat swing capitalised on freebies down the leg side. He had two lives — Manpreet Gony and Gambhir dropping him either side of the century. He was finally caught by debutant Ojha who had a decent day. The left-arm spinner grabbed two wickets and held three catches.

Though India coasted on with four points in its kitty in the Super Four stage — it carried forward the two points gained from its victory over Pakistan in the preliminary Group B match — Dhoni seemed to be hardly pleased. “We have hardly any time to rest with back-to-back matches and the intensity was lacking on the field,” said the Indian skipper.

THE SCORES

Asia Cup Super Four: India v Bangladesh, National Stadium, Karachi, June 28, 2008.

Result: India won by seven wickets.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal c Dhoni b Ishant 55, Nazimuddin c Pragyan Ojha b R. P. Singh 6, Mohammad Ashraful c Ojha b M. Gony 20, Raqibul Hasan b Ojha 25, Mushfiqur Rahim c Dhoni b Ojha 22, Kapali c Ojha b Gony 115, Mahmudullah (not out) 26, Farhad (not out) 0. Extras (lb-5, w-9): 14. Total (for six wickets, 50 overs): 283.

Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-66, 3-102, 4-120, 5-169, 6-281.

India bowling: R. P. Singh 10-1-65-1, M. Gony 8-0-65-2, Ishant 10-0-48-1, P. Ojha 10-0-43-2, Yusuf Pathan 10-0-44-0, Yuvraj 2-0-13-0.

India: G. Gambhir c Mortaza b Farhad 90, R. Uthappa b Shahadat Hossain 2, Rohit c Farhad Reza b Shahadat 22, S. Raina (not out) 116, Yuvraj Singh (not out) 36. Extras (lb-11, w-7): 18. Total (for three wickets, 43.2 overs): 284.

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-56, 3-195.

Bangladesh bowling: Mortaza 9-0-55-0, Shahadat 9-0-60-2, Mahmudullah 6-0-35-0, Farhad 6-0-38-1, Razzak 9.2-0-59-0, Kapali 4-0-26-1.