 Raina, Gambhir star in Indian victory over Bangladesh
29th Jun 2008 08:00 IST
Agencies
Earlier, Kapali smashed his maiden ODI hundred to steer Bangladesh to their highest total of 283/6.
Kapali, who made 115 from 96 balls, was chiefly responsible for pushing Bangladesh to a fighting total after his team had slipped to 120/4 and then 169/5.
He also put on 112 runs from 96 balls with Mahmadullah (26 not out) for the sixth wicket to raise 97 runs in the final 10 overs.
Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (2/43) scalped two key wickets in the middle overs besides taking three catches to have a successful debut as India made three changes in their playing XI.
Kapali came into bat in the 24th over with his team on a precarious 120/4 and went on to play a brilliant innings with his 100 coming from 86 balls with eight fours and five sixes.
It was a satisfying moment for the leg-spinning all-rounder as he was not picked in the original Asia Cup squad and only came in as a replacement for the injured Aftab Ahmed.
Kapali, who was particularly severe on off-spinner Yusuf Pathan and pacer Manpreet Gony (2/65), was dismissed on the penultimate ball of the innings, caught at deep square leg by Ojha off Gony, after hitting 10 sixes and five fours.
Kapali reached his sixth fifty in the 43rd over by hitting Pathan for two sixes and then in the next over savaged Gony for two successive sixes to take 19 runs from the costly over.
His hundred overshadowed a fine 55 from opener Tamim Iqbal who survived a dropped chance on 11 to hit seven fours in his 67-ball knock.
In the middle overs, Ojha had pushed the Bangladeshis to the backfoot by snapping up Raqibul Hasan (25) and Mushfiqur Rahim (22).
He first broke a 49-run stand for the fourth wicket by bowling Hasan and than had Rahim caught behind by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off a failed cut shot.
The two wickets were a big setback for Bangladesh who were staging a slow recovery from the early loss of opener Nazimuddin, who was caught at third man by Ojha off left-arm seamer Rudra Pratap Singh, and captain Mohammad Ashraful (20) who fell to Gony caught by Ojha at mid-off.
Tamim was also lucky as he was missed by Gambhir at mid-wicket off Gony while on 11.
RP Singh was expensive returning figures of 1/65 from his 10 overs while young Ishant Sharma conceded 48 for the lone wicket of Tamim. |
