Left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu compounded Bangladesh’s slump by taking five wickets (5 for 20).
But the real hero of India’s victory was Dhull. He is talked about in the Indian domestic championship as a player to be cherished in the batting order, and this day showed that is not the case.
In his 20s, Dhull has a much calmer head on his shoulders. The youngster from Delhi took the field when India were leading 75-2 in the 19th over.
Dhull got straight to business with the Bangladeshi bowlers, who used a hint of turn to keep the Indian batsmen in shackles.
Most of them fell trying to press the gas and the responsibility of advancing the Indian innings fell on Dhull’s shoulders.
He also handled the pressure with brilliance. Dhull played a total of 30 ounces in the match and was the last man to be run out in the 50th minute.
Dhull and Manav Suter added 41 runs for the eighth wicket and brought India closer to the 200-run mark, which they eventually managed to cross.
But when the Bangladeshi colts started thundering into the attack, the final score seemed insufficient. Openers Tanzid Hasan (51, 56 balls) and Mohammad Naeem (38, 40 balls) punished the Indian bowlers at a rate of six runs per game.
Bangladesh reached the 70-run mark in just over 11 overs. But just as the ball started to lose its luster and hardness, the Indian spinners got their team back in the game.