Bangladesh recorded one of their best wins in recent times as they clinched a one-wicket victory over neighbours India and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series in Mirpur on Sunday.
Chasing 187, Bangladesh started the second half as favourites but were 136/9 after a great bowling performance by India. In the end, though, Mehidy Hasan Miraz played a blinder to take his side home thanks to an undefeated half-century stand with Mustafizur Rahman for the 10th wicket.
Asked to bat, Rohit Sharma and Co were disappointing with the bat and were dismissed for 186. While the score was poor, the worse thing was India lasted just 41.2 overs. KL Rahul (73 off 70 balls) was the sole bright spot.
Shakib Al Hasan (5/36) was the star bowler at his favourite hunting ground while Ebadot Hossain (4/47) also made a big contribution.
In reply, Bangladesh looked set to win with captain Litton Das’s 41 and decent contributions elsewhere but India kept chipping away. Mehidy then produced a sensational 39-ball 38-run in the end, helped by a dropped catch by Rahul.
Mohammed Siraj (3/32) was fantastic for India, while Washington Sundar (2/17) and debutant Kuldeep Sen (2/37) claimed two wickets each. Shardul Thakur (1/21) and Deepak Chahar (1/32) accounted for one wicket each. But once Siraj’s spell was over, India looked toothless in the last few overs.
“We bowled pretty well and kept them under pressure till the end. They held their nerves in the backend,” said India skipper Rohit Sharma.
“The genes are there, these guys grew up playing in such conditions. It is all about handling pressure. Hopefully, we change things around in the next game.”
Here are some reactions to Bangladesh’s win:
With AFP inputs
Stats mentioned in the tweets are for men’s ODIs only unless otherwise specified
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