ABDULLAH AL MEHDI from New Delhi

The crowd were arriving slowly at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium in the second of three T20Is yesterday, even 15 minutes before the toss. However, as the first innings of India wore on, with the hosts amassing 221 for nine while the Bangladesh spinners were taken to the cleaners, the stadium gradually filled to the rafters.

Before the toss, which the visitors won and chose to bowl in a batting paradise, all three Bangladesh pacers in Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, and Tanzim Sakib lined up on one of the pitches away from the central one that was to be used for the game. Mustafizur and Taskin, in particular, got that away movement to work for them as they warmed up for the game. Sakib, who would make the eleven in place of Shoriful Islam, was looking to hit wicket-keeper Liton Das’s gloves hard.

After off-spinner Mehedi Miraz gave away three fours in the first over, the three pacers took on the workload. The trio would keep it tight and, in the process, pick up three wickets in a solid Powerplay effort.

The dangerous Sanju Samson was the first to go, courtesy of some variable bounce early in the wicket, as his punch did not quite clear the infield off a Taskin delivery.

Tanzim showed he can vary his pace to good effect here. After one got whipped off the stumps, he would put in a slower ball just to put some doubt in Abhishek Sharma’s mind. But the slower ball was picked and smashed through cover for four. An attempted yorker was dug out next delivery.

In the last delivery of the over, however, Sakib showed his white-ball skills: a wobble-seam delivery that pitched at middle and leg and swayed away, at pace. Facing a 147 kph menacing delivery, Abhishek’s wild slog looked listless as he managed an inside edge, which left the stumps cartwheeling.

Taskin and Sakib would put in two more tight overs in the Powerplay as 11 came off those overs. But perhaps the most important detail of the game happened in the fifth over of Sakib, as a rapid short ball saw Nitish Kumar Reddy late on the shot. The ball took the gloves and Liton dropped it, leading to a reprieve for the batter on five.

Mustafizur, possessing back-of-the-hand cutters in his arsenal, dismissed Suryakumar Yadav, who chipped it to mid-off to depart for a 10-ball eight.

The Powerplay ended with India at 45 for three -- a brilliant effort from the quicks to pull back the runs and pick up wickets. However, after the Powerplay, Nitish showed how costly the drop was.

A 108-run stand between Rinku Singh and Nitish in just eight overs showed how good the wicket was. In last year’s IPL, five games had seen eight scores of 200 at this ground.

Rinku’s 29-ball 53 and Nitish’s 34-ball 74, laced with four boundaries and seven sixes, saw India back in the hunt. The home side did not look back, even as all three Bangladesh quicks picked up two wickets each.

Mustafizur, who dismissed Nitish, finished with 36 for two. Taskin was the pick of the bunch, conceding just 16 in his four and bagging two wickets. For Sakib, it was a mixed bag in the end, conceding 50 in four overs after going for only 15 in his first two.