With India already assured of a place in the Asia Cup 2023 final, Rohit Sharma & Co. decided to make as many as five changes to their Playing XI for their final Super Four fixture at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The Men in Blue decided to test their bench strength and had to rest the likes of Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli to accomodate both Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel in the team while also bringing in Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav and Prasidh Krishna in the side in place of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav.
While those on the bench for the match against Bangladesh could have rested given that India are to play again on Sunday in the summit clash with the first-choice options getting back into the side for this fixture, Kohli and Pandya were spotted practicing. The video of them practicing has gone viral on social media.
Take a look:
Talking about the match, India went on to lose the close game by 6 runs. While India elected to bowl first, Bangladesh posted 265/8 with Shakib Al Hasan top-scoring with 80 off 85 balls. Towhid Hridoy also played a vital knock, contributing 54 off 81 while Nasum Ahmed chipped in with 44 off 45 deliveries. For India, Shardul Thakur conceded 65 runs but was the highest wicket-taker, ending with three scalps to his credit.
In response, Shubman Gill's 121 off 133 balls and Axar Patel's 42 off 34 deliveries brought India close but in the end they fell short by 6 runs. Shakib shone with the ball as well, picking up a wicket for 43 runs. Mustafizur Rahman finished with 3 for 50 while debutant Tanzim Hasan Sakib impressed with 2 for 32.