Rahman became only the second bowler after Zimbabwe’s Brian Vitori to take five-wicket hauls in his first two ODIs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Bangladesh pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman was the star of the show once again as he sliced through India’s batting line-up to help his side win their first ever bilateral series against India.
Rahman claimed a career-best six wickets as Bangladesh went on to win the rain-affected match by six wickets.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have been regretting his decision to bat first as Rahman struck on the second ball of the match, dismissing Rohit Sharma for a second-ball duck.
Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli made up for the early loss of Sharma with a 74-run partnership before Kohli was given out lbw off the bowling of Nasir Hossain for 23.
Dhawan was the only Indian batsman to surpass the 50-run mark, but he ended up throwing his wicket away when he was caught behind off the bowling of Hossain.
Dhawan’s solid knock of 53 came off 60 balls and included seven boundaries.
Dhawan made a gutsy 53
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
With Ambati Rayudu falling for a duck, India were in desperate need of a partnership. Suresh Raina and Dhoni answered the call with a 53-run stand before Raina was caught behind off the bowling of Rahman.
Following Raina’s dismissal, India’s middle and lower order collapsed as Rahman ran rampant, removing batsman after batsman.
However, his rampage was halted when the rain came and play was suspended for nearly two hours. But, when the match resumed, Rahman was still in red-hot form as he clean bowled Ravindra Jadeja for 19 off the last ball of his spell.
India were eventually bowled out for 200 when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was caught behind off the bowling of Rubel Hossain for three runs.
Rahman was easily the pick of the bowlers with his career-best six wickets, while Rubel Hossain and Nasir Hossain chipped in with two wickets apiece.
Set a target of 200 to win off 47 overs via the Duckworth-Lewis method, Bangladesh did not get off to the best of starts as Tamim Iqbal was caught by Dhawan at slip off the bowling of Dhawal Kulkarni for 13.
Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das steadied the innings with a 52-run partnership before Sarkar was given out lbw off the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin for 34.
Das went on to make 36 runs before he was caught behind off the bowling of Axar Patel.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim edged Bangladesh closer to their target with a 54-run partnership before Rahim was run out by Sharma for 31.
However, that was to be India’s last piece of success during the match as Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman finished things off with an unbeaten 48-run partnership, during which Al Hasan brought up his half-century.
Al Hasan ended up making 51 off 62 balls, which included five boundaries, while Rahman remained undefeated on 22 off 23 deliveries, which included three boundaries.
Al Hasan hit five boundaries during his unbeaten knock of 51
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Patel, Ashwin and Kulkarini took one wicket each.
Dhoni was disgusted with his side’s performance, and said: “It’s pretty simple to see what went wrong. We need to put runs on the board. We didn’t get to a good start, and whenever there was a partnership we lost two wickets together. You have to take risks in such a game, but if you keep losing two wickets in a row, it becomes difficult to do so. If you have 200 on the board, it is quite easy for the other teams to chase so I won’t blame the bowlers for this game.
“We as batsmen got starts, but we didn’t make it big. Where we lacked was the fact that we lost wickets. Most of them played two or three deliveries. They are bowling well as a unit. You can’t rely on just one or two bowlers. That is what they are doing well. Even when they didn’t get a wicket, they kept things tight. They got a bit of reverse [swing] but their lines and lengths were good. We will come and enjoy, maybe play a bit more freely. Won’t think too much about the result. Will be the last match of the season, it has been a hectic season, and we are looking forward to it.”
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza was ecstatic to have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead, and said: “That was a great moment for us. To be playing in the Champions Trophy is a big achievement for us. Every time we were shaken someone took over. That is a big thing. The way Mustafiz is bowling he has become the big fish. It has been very significant, and many series coming up, hopefully we can keep on performing like this.”
Mustafizur Rahman was once again named Man of the Match, and said: “Very happy. My team-mates helped me a lot to help me do well. Thanks to the crowd too for turning up despite the rain. I want to bowl even better in the third ODI.”