Rohit Sharma and his men slumped to another loss in Bangladesh which meant that they have now lost their second ODI series in the country in seven years. Playing to save the series, India had bowled well to reduce Bangladesh to 69/6 by the end of the 19th over, but the hosts forged the rear guard resistance with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahmudullah combining together for a record ODI partnership for the seventh wicket against India.
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Riding on that stand, they managed to post 271 on the board. In reply, India crumbled under pressure with skipper Rohit Sharma coming out to bat at nine and trying his best to save the match. He almost succeeded before Mustafizur Rahman saved the day for Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, fans took to social media to condemn the kind of performance where the heavyweights of the game like India were deal a severe blow by a team like Bangladesh. With ODI World Cup not so far away, the results would surely not please the management—coach Rahul Dravid especially.
Asked if batting and bowling in the middle overs is becoming a problem, Dravid said it hasn’t been easy not having the full squad.
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“I guess from our perspective, it has not been easy to play. We don’t have full squad. Hopefully, from January, depending on injuries, we will get full squad to play home series. We have nine ODIs before IPL (3 vs NZ, 3 vs SL and 3 vs Aus) and hopefully, we will get to play a settled squad in those games,” Dravid said at post-match press conference.
“In the last two years, we had prioritised T20s a lot as there were two World Cups. In the next 8-10 months, we will be prioritising ODI cricket. It is not easy to juggle three formats.
“Now, our white ball boys (specialists) will get some rest with Test matches being played,” Dravid added.
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India’s shoddy batting display and the inability to land the killer blow contributed to their second successive series loss in Bangladesh after the diminutive Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the hosts to a five-run win in the second ODI with a memorable hundred.
Miraz tormented the Indian bowlers on way to his maiden century as Bangladesh staged a remarkable recovery to reach 271 for seven.
India’s challenge looked all over at 207 for seven but skipper Rohit Sharma’s (51 not out off 28 balls) valiant effort went in-vain as he nearly took his team home while batting with a split left webbing.
India needed a six off the final ball of the game but Mustafizur did well to perfect the yorker under pressure after bowling a slew of slow leg-breaks in the 48th over forcing Mohammed Siraj to play out a maiden.
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