The relentlessness of Abhishek and the ruthlessness of Bumrah

On an error-strewn night for India - dropped catches, a middle order that left runs behind - two performances stood out.

At the top, Abhishek Sharma served up yet another reminder of why he is one of the most exciting T20 batters going around, and then, in defence of a slightly-below-par 168 - a target Bangladesh had achieved in their Super Fours opener against Sri Lanka - Jasprit Bumrah made the ball talk in a powerplay spell out of the top drawer.

Before Abhishek's mayhem comes a meditative pause. He steps into a world of shadow batting, running through drills that could be mistaken for a golfer perfecting his swing.

It's this same swing that set the tempo against Shaheen Shah Afridi on two blockbuster Sundays at the Asia Cup. It's the same swing that reminds mentor Yuvraj Singh of his heyday, and has left Brian Lara, his coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad until recently, in awe.

On Wednesday, this free-flowing bat swing wasn't visible for the first seven deliveries. Abhishek's only boundary was off a thick outside edge that ballooned over backward point. Restlessness seemed to creep in. The eighth ball was a peach from Tanzim Hasan, which should have had him back in the dugout, but Jaker Ali put him down. Luck was smiling on Abhishek.

As Yuvraj has cheekily reminded him in what is now a viral Instagram reel - "single bhi lelo, maharaj" [take singles too, my lord] - Abhishek took one the next ball. He had been itching to swing, yet chose a controlled punch when Nasum Ahmed bowled flatter. But, by the next delivery, the temptation was irresistible, and the ball sailed over deep midwicket. Ten balls in, Abhishek had announced himself.

It's that unfettered freedom which forces bowlers, even of the class of Mustafizur Rahman, to find the need to summon a Plan B quickly. When he came on in the fifth over, with deep midwicket and deep square in place, cutters into the pitch to try and deny Abhishek room to swing seemed like a sound plan.

Yet, Abhishek was already back inside the crease, lining up Mustafizur to loft him over long-on. Three nights ago, he showed this kind of adaptability even against spin, when Saim Ayub bowled a carrom ball on a length, trying to zip one past him. But Abhishek used the depth of the crease to camp back and loft, releasing immense core strength to make the shot work. And in executing shots the bowlers haven't planned against, Abhishek has shown enough to suggest he's no one-trick pony.

On Wednesday, it helped that Shubman Gill scored quickly at the other end to give Abhishek some breathing space in the powerplay. And when Abhishek was finally in, he displayed his range by dispatching similar deliveries to different pockets, like against seamer Mohammad Saifuddin, who saw two leg-stump yorkers turn into full tosses that were drilled through the covers and flicked through square leg. His first over was slammed for four boundaries, and Abhishek brought up fifty off 25 balls.

In 21 T20Is prior to the latest one, he had batted for more than 30 balls on four occasions. Of those four, two ended in centuries. On Wednesday, he crossed the 30-ball mark again. On 75 off 37, another century loomed, only for a run out to deny him.

But in showcasing his range and execution on a tricky surface where most other batters struggled, Abhishek showed why his see-ball-hit-ball philosophy will find backers despite his style being loaded with risks.

If Abhishek embodied fearlessness, Bumrah did ruthless intensity.

Until Wednesday at the Asia Cup, however, Bumrah had been slightly off-colour.

Perhaps it's the standards he sets for himself that made his recent spells seem underwhelming. Even so, his most expensive powerplay over in T20s, against Pakistan on Sunday, may well have forced him to recalibrate.

Against Bangladesh, Bumrah's seam was upright, the difference in release points subtle, the lines relentless, and the away movement repeatedly troubled the left-hand batters. Eight out of his first 12 deliveries beat the bat.

He got on the board quickly, off just his second ball, when Tanzid Hasan looked to flick an awaygoing delivery. From there on, he was jagging them away a mile, and Parvez Hossain Emon struggled to lay bat on ball for seven of his next eight balls off Bumrah. The only one that didn't beat the outside edge was a full toss that veered in a hint to strike him flush on the pad. Luckily for Emon, the impact was outside leg stump.

Like he has all tournament, Bumrah bowled his third over inside the powerplay; only a swing across the line for six somewhat spoiling his figures that went 3-0-17-1. By the time he returned to bowl out, ball hidden away and eyes fixed on the target, Bangladesh's batters were guessing: a toe-crusher or the patented dipping slower balls? This was long after the spinners had dented them big time.

In T20Is, Bumrah is India's insurance policy, the one the captain turns to when the game threatens to go away. Here, he's had to adapt to a different role. But through it all, the half-smile that can intimidate the best, force them into self-doubt and have them retreat into a shell, like Bangladesh's top order did, brought back shades of his best.