Bangladesh and India locked horns in the first ODI of the three-match series in Dhaka on Sunday and it turned out to be a thrilling encounter, with the hosts emerging victorious by one wicket.
India batted first in the match and started losing wickets in the heap. India lost Shikhar Dhawan early in the innings and although Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohki tried to steady the ship, they were rocked by Shakib Al Hasan’s double strike in the 11th over. The left-arm spinner dismissed both batters in the same over and made things worse for India.
The Indian team recovered well as KL Rahul built useful partnerships of 43 and 60 with Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar respectively. But Rahul didn’t find any support after Iyer and Sundar went back to the pavilion and India got bowled out for 186. Rahul was India’s top scorer in the match as he smashed 73 from 70 deliveries.
Rohit Sharma and his men looked totally down and out of the contest but the Indian bowlers delivered an inspirational performance in an effort to defend the total they had at their disposal. Bangladesh were crusing towards the total when Shakib and Litton Das were batting but wickets started falling in clusters once they got dismissed. At 136/9, a victory looked far cry for Bangladesh. But all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz did the unthinkable as he built a 51-run stand for the last wicket with Mustafizur Rahman to take Bangladesh home. Miraz remained unbeaten on 38 from 39 deliveries, whereas Mustafizur made 10* off 11 deliveries.
Bangladesh won the match by a wicket and four overs to spare, and that gave them a crucial 1-0 lead in the series. Miraz was adjudged the Player of the Match for his superb batting effort.
Brief Scores
India 186 All Out in 41.2 overs (Rahul 73, Rohit 27; Shakib 5/36)
Bangladesh 187/9 in 46 overs (Litton 41, Miraz 38*; Siraj 3/32)
Bangladesh won by 1 wicket
