Hardik, and Arshdeep Star as India beat Bangladesh

Gwalior hosted international cricket after 13 years, with India securing a comfortable 7-wicket victory over Bangladesh. The Indian players displayed their all-round skills, leaving Bangladesh struggling against the T20 world champions. This match marked the return of cricket to Gwalior, the site of Sachin Tendulkar's iconic double hundred against South Africa in the last international game held there.

It was predicted to be a straightforward win for Team India as their team had a strong line-up compared to Bangladesh, who needed to come up with something extraordinary to beat India. Both teams introduced new players to their lineups, with India's pace sensation Mayank Yadav receiving his T20 cap along with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. India won the toss and chose to bowl first in a night game, with the captain, Surya Kumar Yadav, stating that the pitch was fresh and unlikely to change much throughout the game.

Bangladesh's batters, Parvez Hossain Emon and Liton Das, opened their batting. There was a hint of swing from Arshdeep with the new ball, but Liton managed to hit him for a boundary after a few dot balls, only to then get caught by Rinku Singh, who was fielding at cover. Bangladesh lost their experienced opener, Liton Das, in the first over. In the next over, Hardik Pandya came in and was hit for a six by Emon, but he finished the over well by conceding only 8 runs. In the following over, Arshdeep continued and clean-bowled Emon as he tried to hit a wide ball, dragging it onto his stumps.

After losing two openers, Bangladesh managed to finish the Powerplay with 39 runs on the board and the loss of two wickets, with their captain Shanto and Hridoy in the middle. Hridoy, looking to increase the run rate, lost his wicket to Varun Chakravarthy, who made a return to international cricket after 4 years. Wickets were falling quickly as the Bangladesh batters struggled to form partnerships. Meanwhile, India's debutant, Mayank Yadav, started his career with a maiden over and took a wicket in the next over. It was an impressive debut for the pacer, who showcased good pace, line, and length.

Despite losing a few wickets in the middle, Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan held his wicket and batted decently, becoming their highest scorer with 35 runs. The Indian bowlers quickly cleared the tail, and Bangladesh managed to put up a total of 127 runs, setting a target of 128 runs for India.

In comes Indian openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for a straightforward chase. The new opening pair looked comfortable in the middle and seemed aggressive right from the first over. Abhishek Sharma lost his wicket due to a runout caused by a miscommunication between him and Samson, resulting in India losing their first wicket. 

Then, the Indian captain walked in and took some time with his first few balls, but then smashed a six off Mustafizur Rahman and resumed his typical batting service, with India cruising towards the target by scoring 71 runs in the powerplay. Although Bangladesh was able to pick up wickets here and there, it didn't stop the Indian batters, as they intended to finish the game as soon as possible. Both Sanju and Surya scored 29 runs each and got dismissed. 

Then, the debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy got his chance to prove himself and was accompanied by Hardik Pandya in the chase. Reddy played the anchor role in this partnership, while it was the Hardik Pandya show all day. He looked in vintage form, timing the ball beautifully, which included a no-look upper cut over the wicket-keeper, exhibiting a typical Hardik aesthetic touch. Hardik made sure to finish the game in style with a maximum and broke the record previously held by Virat Kohli, who had finished a T20I match with a six four times, by achieving this feat five times.

Indian Players who Finished a T20I match with a Six

It was a record-breaking outing for Pandya as he ensured India reached the target within 12 overs, defeating Bangladesh by seven wickets and taking the series lead in Gwalior. Despite his heroic all-round performance, Arshdeep Singh was named the player of the match for his 3/14. It was a blockbuster Sunday for the fans as they witnessed a dominating clash.