ABDULLAH AL MEHDI from New Delhi

Bangladesh’s batting against India once again fell uncomfortably short in the second T20I, this time in New Delhi, as the Tigers lost by a whopping 86-run margin -- their biggest against India -- in another cumbersome effort without wonder yesterday.

As a result, India take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series -- their 16th successive T20 series win at home since 2019.

At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the Tigers did show early promise in their chase of a 222-run target. However, just like their bowlers stuttered after three early wickets, a few boundaries later their batting innings had a similar look to it like the series opener.

Parvez Hossain Emon welcomed Arshdeep Singh, starting the innings with a boundary. The entertaining over ended with two back-to-back fours, but the flourish was short-lived as Emon departed in Arshdeep’s next over.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto arrived and hit two back-to-back fours in the same over, and then Liton Das hit a towering six off Nitish Kumar Reddy. From 38 for one in four overs, things went downhill from there.

Once Shanto departed, finding the fielder at long-on in the Powerplay, Liton got one from Varun Chakravarthy that stayed low, disturbing his stumps. Towhid Hridoy departed to part-timer spinner Abhishek Sharma, leaving Bangladesh’s chase in shambles -- on 46 for four.

From that point onward, not much materialised. Mahmudullah Riyad, playing his final T20I series, got a few over the ropes. His 39-ball 41 seemed more like a vigil as the chase had already fallen off the tracks, eventually ending up on 135 for nine.

“I think we made the same errors [as in the first game], which is not a good thing as a team,” Shanto said during the post-match ceremony.

“We need to improve. I think it was a good decision [to bowl]. They batted well after the first six-seven overs, but we didn’t execute our plans. We need to take responsibility as batsmen,” he added.

Earlier, Bangladesh pacers held their own in the Powerplay. Tanzim Sakib was impressive with his pace and variations, while Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman were also among the wickets as India stood at 45 for three.

Then Liton dropped what should have been a regulation catch off Sakib, giving Nitish Kumar a reprieve. Dropped on five, Nitish went on to pummel seven sixes during a 34-ball 74.

A 108-run stand developed between Rinku Singh and Nitish in just eight overs. Thus, even after a solid Powerplay effort, the game slipped away for the tourists.

Taskin ended with two for 16 as the pick of the Tigers’ bowlers. The margin of the defeat was also due to the batting-friendly track on offer. In last year’s IPL, five games saw eight scores of 200 at this ground.

“Wanted to get a partnership with Nitish as the wicket was slow and was sticking in the pitch a bit. The no-ball from Mahmudullah shifted the momentum, and Nitish got going after that,” Rinku said after the game, referring to a no-ball from Mahmudullah which resulted in a free-hit and India’s first six.

But Nitish had made the difference after the dropped catch. Still, a disastrous batting performance is what the Tigers will take away from the game before they look to make amends in the series’ final match in Hyderabad on Saturday.