This was classical Bangladesh too, so spirited that they turned self-destructively passionate, trapped in an emotional, confused whirlpool, stumbling to their 17th defeat in 18 meetings with India in the shortest format. It was, as has been forever since the two nations began to compete, how long Bangladesh could fight, how deep they could take this game, or how resolved they are to believe that they could trade blows. India’s is such a well-worn, guileful and experienced band of bowlers that inevitably find a solution.

India’s Kuldeep Yadav, centre, celebrates the wicket of Bangladesh’s Tanzim Hasan Sakib. (AP photo)

If one hero sinks, the other rises, as though they were a fleet of vultures taking turns to scavenge their prey. Jasprit Bumrah produced a rip-roaring first spell, hostile and fearful, making the ball kick off hard length, generating sharp bounce and subtle movement. He blasted pads, whizzed past the bat shoulder. His form had fluctuated in the Asia Cup, his worst-figures ever in this format came against Pakistan the other night, but here he was as sharp as the obsidian scalpel, considered the sharpest object in the world. He nipped out Tanzid Hasan in his second over with a zingy away-swinger that landed on leg and middle, drawing him to the flick, before shaping away and taking his leading edge. Parvez Hussain Emon pulled him for a six but he was too composed to be rattled.

The six and a flurry of fours in the previous over of Varun Chakaravarthy imparted Bangladesh with momentum. But Suryakumar Yadav commissioned Kuldeep Yadav. He took just two balls to strike. Kuldeep, a psychoanalyst of batsmen, knew Emon would pull out his sweep any time. So he did. But he had shortened his length a trifle, the massively overspun ball bounced more than the unsuspecting Emon had expected. The ball skewered off his leading edge. With the run-rate mounting, Bangladesh could not afford taking the foot off the pedal. But Kuldeep forced them to decelerate, with another thrifty over. Resigned to the fate that he is unreadable, they did not even entertain any thoughts of attacking him.

But India is such a relentless machine that when one wicket-taking bowler retreats, another strides in. Exit Kuldeep; enter Axar Patel. The left-arm spinner ejected Towhid Hridoy. Renter Varun, he slayed Shamim Hosain. Stand-in captain Jaker Ali’s run out, slumping Bangladesh to 87 for 5 in 12.3 overs, diminished Bangladesh’s ambitions. Saif Hassan, though, was unwilling to yield, and he fought on, exposing cracks that demanded a coat of cement and paint. Like outfield catching. After shelling four against Pakistan, they spilled three catches off Saif. The most comical was Shivam Dube and Hardik crashing into each other. Dube was under the ball, but upon Hardik’s intervention could not fully get under the ball. A little while Axar had dropped him too.

Bangladesh’s Saif Hassan, left, and Bangladesh’s Parvez Hossain Emon run between the wickets. (AP photo)

But on Wednesday, Saif had a cat’s life. He was reprieved twice more, one apiece by Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. He was Bangladesh’s lone flicker of hope. But India kept making inroads at the other end. They lost three wickets for as many runs and eventually Saif too was extinguished. Axar showed how catches are pouched clinically. Realising that he is close to the ropes near long-on, he turned side-on when getting under the ball, so that he doesn’t step onto the boundary cushion. The match ended, as it always was destined to. India were ecstatic, not only because they had effectively sewn up the game but also because they had latched onto a tough catch after spilling a slew of straightforward.

Bangladesh’s passionate fans walked back dejectedly. They had shed every drop of sweat and emotion. There was flash and colour in the stands, where atypically Bangladesh’s fans matched the Indians in numbers outmatched them in the decibels quotient and organised chatter. Undaunted by the burden of under-performance against India, they shrieked and screamed, the bright green flag fluttering vigorously and tossing the stuffed miniature tigers, sneaked past suspicious security guards. When the players assembled for the pre-match warm-ups, they did not restrain from showing their frustration of losing repeatedly to India. Verbal reminders of the 2007 World Cup shock flew aplenty, the country’s lone memorable moment against India in global or continental stage, a fan flashed the picture of Tamim Iqbal, one of the heroes of the day, a false dawn as it later unfolded. And so it was in Dubai, their call for another hero remained unanswered against a team inhabiting in a space of their own in the summit of the T20 mountain.