Mehidy Hasan proved to be the hero of Dhaka after helping Bangladesh to a thrilling one-wicket win over India in the first ODI. With 51 needed for the final pair to get, Mehidy farmed the strike beautifully with Mustafizur at the other end, and ended up with an unbeaten 38 to help Bangladesh go 1-0 up.
Mehidy mixed taking his chances in every over and picked singles to farm the strike, and did so expertly. India crumbled under the pressure eventually, with KL Rahul dropping Mehidy once and then the bowlers faltering with no-balls, while overthrows and misfields added to Bangladesh's gain.
The last-wicket pair stayed together for 39 balls and added the 51 runs out of which Mustafizur's contributions was 10 off 11. Mehidy found an ally in the width on offer from the Indian pacers. He hit two sixes an over against Kuldeep Sen with that shot and proceeded to take a few more boundaries in the same area as India slipped up. He found an able batting partner in Mustafizur, who did his role to perfection, even chipping in with a couple of boundaries himself at the crunch.
The duo's association had come to be after multiple twists through the match, on a slow surface.
Bangladesh had got off on the wrong foot in the chase when Deepak Chahar struck first ball to have Najmul Hossain caught at slip. Mohammad Siraj then had Anamul Haque caught to leave Bangladesh in a spot of bother at 26/2. However, the rescue act came in the form a solid Shakib Al Hasan, and an enterprising Litton Das. The latter, through a brisk 43, kept Bangladesh ahead in the chase even if the asking rate was not high.
Bangladesh's stutter in the middle overs was triggered by offspinner Washington Sundar, who accounted for both Das and Shakib in quick succession. The experienced hands of Mushfiquar Rahim and Mahmudullah stayed put for 71 balls but could add only 33 runs in the process without a boundary. The choke was exacerbated when the duo became two of the five wickets that fell in the space of eight runs.
India's turnaround had started on the back of their pacers' triggering the collapse. Shardul Thakur had Mahmudullah LBW off a full delivery, and Mohammad Siraj had Rahim chopping on off successive deliveries. This was followed by a double-wicket over from debutant Kuldeep Sen, who had Afif Hossain slashing to third man and Ebadot Hossain trodding onto the stumps.
Having slumped to 136/9, Bangladesh looked down and out until Mehidy pulled off a miracle.
It also made sure that all the good work that Bangladesh did in the first half did not go to waste. For earlier, Shakib Al Hasan had provided a masterclass in slow bowling as India were bowled out for a mere 186 after being put in to bat.
On a pitch that was on the slower side, Shakib ended up with figures of 5 for 36, that included the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in his very first over. Bangladesh's stand-in skipper Litton Das wasted little time in introducing spin on the surface, and it paid early dividends from both ends.
Before Shakib got into the act, offspinner Mehidy Hasan won his battle against Shikhar Dhawan, who attempted a reverse sweep after being tied down for a while and ended up dragging it onto the stumps.
Shakib struck with just his second ball when he had Rohit completely missing an arm ball and bowling him through the gate. In the same over, Shakib also had Kohli beaten in flight and chipping a cover drive in the air, for Litton to complete a stunning diving catch. At 49/3 in the 11th over, India were in desperate need of a partnership.
KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer kickstarted that effort in earnest, but Bangladesh were spot on with their bowling plans. Ebadot Hossain took control of this phase with some well directed short balls against Shreyas. While the duo put on a 43-run stand, Shreyas eventually persihed trying to pull Ebadot and skying one to the wicketkeeper.
Rahul provided some resistance for India and put on 60 in the company of Washington Sundar as he found runs coming in sharp bursts. A six and a four off Mehidy and a couple of cuts against Ebadot helped him to his 11th ODI fifty.
But just as India were beginning their comeback, Bangladesh brought back their talisman and Shakib struck immediately having Washington caught off a reverse sweep. As India lost four wickets for six runs, Shakib was in the action right through. He took a good low catch at cover to get rid of Shabaz Ahmed, before striking twice to send back both Shardul Thakur (beaten on the outside edge) and Deepak Chahar (LBW off an arm ball). With figures of 5/36, he ended up with the best-ever figures for a left-arm spinner against India.
The collapse notwithstanding, Rahul found a burst of boundaries again to push India ahead. But Ebadot had the last laugh, getting him out on the pull for 73 before wrapping India's innings for 186 with another short ball.
Brief Scores: India 186 all out (KL Rahul 73; Shakib AlHasan 5/36, Ebadot Hossain 4/47) lost to Bangladesh 187/9 in 46 ov (Litton Das 41, Mehidy Hasan 38*; Mohammad Siraj 3-32) by 1 wicket
Source: Cricbuzz