2nd T20I: Nitish Reddy's all-round show, Rinku's 50 help India register 86-run win, seal series 2-0

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itish Kumar Reddy came up with a sensational all-round performance, smashing a 34-ball 74 and 2-23, in only his second T20I as India put up a show worthy of a World Champion as they recovered from early setbacks to dominate Bangladesh both with the bat and ball for a comprehensive 86-run victory in the second T20I on Wednesday.

2nd T20I: Nitish Reddy's all-round show, Rinku's 50 help India register 86-run win, seal series 2-0

Reddy first excelled with the bat as he, along with Rinku Singh (53), added 108 runs for the fourth wicket to rescue India from a difficult 41/3. This partnership helped them post 221/9 after being asked to bat first by the visitors at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Reddy became the first Indian player to score 70 runs and claim two wickets in a T20I. Given the ball ahead of Hardik Pandya, Nitish Reddy bowled superbly to claim 2-23 in his four overs, while Varun Chakravarthy bagged 2-19 in a brilliant four-over spell. The Indian bowlers strangled the Bangladesh batters to restrict them to 135/9 in 20 overs, claiming a memorable victory following their big win in the first match in Gwalior.

The Indian bowlers derailed Bangladesh's chase after the visitors had shown good intent by scoring 14 runs off the first over. The Indian spinners continued to trouble the batters, with Washington Sundar dismissing Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (11) in his first over. Left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma cleaned up Howhid Hridoy for seven, making it 48/4. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahmudullah, playing his last two T20Is, added 34 runs for the fifth wicket, but they could not stitch together a big partnership. From 80/4, Bangladesh soon slumped to 93/7 in the 14th over. Mahmudullah top-scored with 41 off 39 balls, but that was too late and too little.

Bangladesh, who suffered a big defeat in the first T20I in Gwalior, did not improve much and were outplayed once again, with their batters failing to tackle the disciplined bowling. India captain Suryakumar Yadav used seven bowlers, with all of them taking wickets. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Varun Chakravarthy claimed two each. The Indian skipper kept rotating his bowlers, giving them short spells that kept the Bangladesh batters on their toes. The bowlers did a good job, executing their plans effectively. The Indians also fielded well, with Hardik Pandya taking three catches, including a stunning catch at the boundary.

Asked to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Reddy blasted a 34-ball 74 while Rinku struck a 29-ball 53. Hardik Pandya contributed with a trademark 19-ball 32, allowing India, the reigning World Champions in this format, to post a big score and maintain their chances of taking an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. India lost openers Sanju Samson (10 off 7) and Abhishek Sharma (15 off 11), reducing them to 25/2 in three overs as Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib varied their pace to fox the batters on a wicket where the ball was sticking. Suryakumar Yadav contributed only eight runs, leaving the hosts in trouble at 41/3.

Reddy and Rinku played a waiting game to prevent any further disasters before exploding into action around the halfway mark. Reddy hammered 26 runs off the 13th over bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, hitting three sixes and a four in an over that included a wide delivery from the bowler. Earlier, the duo had taken 24 runs off the 10th over bowled by Rishad Hossain, with Reddy hitting back-to-back sixes off two full deliveries while Rinku started the over with a boundary and ended it with a six off a short ball. Reddy raced to his half-century off 27 balls, hitting three boundaries and four sixes. He was confident with his shots and unafraid to take aerial risks despite seeing the first three batters dismissed due to varied pace.

In total, Reddy hammered four boundaries and seven sixes before being dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman as he failed to pick the cutter while attempting an attacking shot. Rinku, who struck the first six of the Indian innings, hit Tanzim Hasan for successive boundaries in the 16th over. He had earlier hit Rishad Hossain for a four and a six in the 10th over as he scored a fine half-century. The Indians capitalized on overs bowled by Bangladesh spinners, recovering well to post a challenging total.

Hardik Pandya blasted two fours and two sixes in his vital cameo, while Riyan Parag hit two big ones in his 6-ball 15 as India crossed the 200-run mark. However, the lower order collapsed as India lost three wickets in the final over bowled by Rishad Hossain, who ended with figures of 3-55 from his four overs. Taskin Ahmed was the best Bangladesh bowler with 2-16 from his quota, while Tanzim Hasan Sakib lost his way after a good start, finishing with figures of 2-50.

Brief scores:

India: 221/9 in 20 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 74, Rinku Singh 53, Hardik Pandya 32; Taskin Ahmed 2-16, Rishad Hossain 3-55, Mustafizur Rahman 2-36)

Bangladesh: 135/9 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 41; Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-23, Varun Chakravarthy 2-19, Abhishek Sharma 1-10)

Result: India won by 86 runs.

โœ”๏ธ 2nd T20I: Nitish Reddy's all-round show, Rinku's 50 help India register 86-run win, seal series 2-0

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