Pant, Arshdeep Impress as India Clinch Warm-Up Win Against Bangladesh

Team India would be happy with the form of Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh in their lone warm-up match before this T20 World Cup.

The keeper-batter, who was also a batter, had not worn the India shirt since the December 2022 Test match against the same opposition prior to his horrible vehicle accident. This was his first practice match versus Bangladesh in New York.

After winning the toss, Pant entered the game at No. 3 and contributed significantly to India's 182/5 total with a strike of 53 off 32 balls before being out. After that, Bangladesh's top order was hit by left-arm pacer Arshdeep (2/12), who got some movement with the new ball. His pace mates Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and left-arm spinner Axar Patel also added their names to the list of wickets.

Despite not being at his best at the bat (14 off 16 balls), Shivam Dube (2/13), who was given the opportunity to bowl, struck twice as India won the match comfortably by 60 runs.

It's difficult to determine how important this practise match is for India given that the United States recently destroyed Bangladesh twice in a row. But the midfield break that captain Rohit Sharma and his team enjoyed provided them a taste of what to expect when they kick off their Cup campaign on Wednesday against Ireland. The ball didn't always seem to come to bat on the drop-in pitch, which at times appeared to be two-paced.

The good news for India is that all of their regular bowlers bowled at least one over each, while all of their other established batters got a chance to bat. The only exceptions were Yashasvi Jaiswal, who wasn't included, and Virat Kohli, who was unable to play in this match due to his inclusion on Friday, as Rohit stated during the toss.

Sanju Samson's failure to capitalize on his opportunity to open with skipper Rohit is the lone letdown.

After a disappointing IPL, all-rounder Hardik Pandya (40 not out off 23 balls) and opener Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 18 balls) both had a respectable batting practise.

Returning to Pant, he had a while to settle in, but in the final Powerplay over, he was at his best when he hit three sixes off Shakib Al Hasan.

India finished with a total of 182/5 in 20 overs (R. Pant 53 returned hurt, H. Pandya 40 not out). In 20 overs, Bangladesh scored 122/9 (A. Singh 2/12, S. Dube 2/13, J. Bumrah 1/12). India prevailed by a score of 60 runs.

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