The must-anticipated 100th international century by
Sachin Tendulkar went in vain as India lost to Bangladesh by five
wickets in their Asia Cup encounter on Friday.
Tendulkar's
hundred (114), which came in 147 deliveries, took the Indian score to
289 and it looked a daunting total till a series of blitz by
Shakib Al Hasan (49 off 31), Nasir Hossain (54 off 58) and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim
(46 off 25) blew away the Indian challenge. Tamim Iqbal's knock of 70
and his 113-run partnership with Jahurul Islam (53 off 68) for the third
wicket laid a solid foundation for Bangladesh.
After
his 64 against Pakistan,
Shakib once again shone with the bat, taking
charge of the Bangladesh chase when things were looking difficult for
the hosts. Just like
Shakib, Hossain, too, was extremely impressive,
taking the attack to the Indian bowlers from the beginning.
Opening
the innings for Bangladesh, Tamim hit his second consecutive
half-century. Praveen Kumar gave India an early breakthrough, picking up
the wicket of Nazimmudin (5 off 15). But Jahurul, playing his 8th
match, mixed aggression with caution. He got to his maiden fifty, before
being caught at mid-wicket by Rohit Sharma off Ravindra Jadeja.
Hossain
picked up where Jahurul left, clobbering the Indian bowlers from the
outset. The wicket of Tamim although gave India a chance to claw their
way back, an onslaught by Shakib took the game away from them. His
partnership of 68 off just 48 balls with Hossain turned the game in
Bangladesh favour.
Huge blows (3 fours, 3 sixes) by skipper Rahim
towards the end of the innings sealed the victory for the home side.
Indian bowlers went for plenty in death overs, leaking 36 runs off the
last 14 balls.
Earlier,
Sachin reached the much-awaited 100th
century. A sigh of relief was palpable on the face of the veteran
batsman who kissed the India emblem on his helmet after waving his bat
towards his teammates.
He and Virat Kohli, who came together after
the dismissal of Gautam Gambhir (11), shared 147 runs for the second
wicket before Kohli was bowled by Abdur Razzak for 66. Suresh Raina was
sent ahead of Rohit and the left-handed wasted no time in displaying his
array of attacking strokes. His 51 off 38 balls gave the much-needed
impetus to the Indian innings, which seemed to have lost momentum as
Tendulkar neared the milestone. Rohit was run out while stealing a two
at death.
Skipper Dhoni remained unbeaten on 21, along with Jadeja
who contributed with 4. Mashrafe Mortaza, who picked up the wickets of
Raina and
Tendulkar in consecutive deliveries, was the best bowler for
Bangladesh.
India will play arch rival Pakistan, who have already reached the final, in a must-win game on Sunday.