2nd ODI review: Bangladesh completely outplayed India

Tags: India tour of Bangladesh, 2015, Bangladesh Vs India - 2nd ODI at Mirpur, Jun 21, 2015, India, Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, ODI Series

Published on: Jun 22, 2015

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Having been beaten in the opening ODI, India would have been desperate to keep the series alive with a win on Sunday. In fact, following the loss in the opening match, Indian batsman Suresh Raina had stated that although the loss was disappointing

Having been beaten in the opening ODI, India would have been desperate to keep the series alive with a win on Sunday. In fact, following the loss in the opening match, Indian batsman Suresh Raina had stated that although the loss was disappointing, India were the better of the two sides, and would fight back. However, Raina's words did not turn out to be true as India put up another pathetic batting performance at Mirpur to lose the match, and with it the series. It was the kind of performance that reiterated Bangladesh were no longer a side that could be dictated to, and also proved that India are a jaded side having come over from the IPL.

Without doubt it was India's lethargic batting that cost them the match for the second time in a row. Not a single Indian batsman applied himself at the crease, as a result of which India finished with a paltry score. Although opener Shikhar Dhawan got a half-century, even he did not carry on. Having got a start, should ideally have carried on, and got the big score. This was all the more important after Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck early in the innings. Virat Kohli got a start, but played a very poor shot to get out. MS Dhoni's promotion worked briefly, but it wasn't enough.

What hurt India the most during their batting stint was the fact that they lost wickets in a bunch. After Rohit fell early, Kohli and Dhawan featured in a steady stand. However, both were dismissed close to each other. The decision to stop Ajinkya Rahane in favour of Ambati Rayudu was strange and, not surprisingly, the move did not work as the latter fell for a duck. Dhoni, who had promoted himself, and Raina, hung around for a while, but even they fell close to each other, outsmarted by Mustafizur Rahman, their hero for the second game in a row. India's lower order crumbled for the second game in a row and, with it, the match was all but over.

Bangladesh must be thankful to Mustafizur for their historic win. For the second game in a row, he completed bamboozled the experienced Indian batting line-up. If pace did the trick for him in the first game, he proved his versatility in the very next game, getting a number of victims with his off cutters. Mustafizur has single-handedly embarrassed India with 11 wickets in two games. But, the scary part for the visitors is that he hopes to do even better in the third ODI. While Bangladesh are going gaga over the new boy, they should also remember Nasir Hossain, who began the collapse by claiming Dhawan and Kohli.

Chasing 200, Bangladesh only needed a couple of decent partnerships, while India needed many early breakthroughs. Once again, Bangladesh won this battle within a battle. With all his experience, Shakib Al Hasan made a calm half-century to guide the side home. There were other crucial knocks by Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim, which combined to keep India at bay. With no pressure of scoring, Bangladesh eased their way home, and completed a historic victory.

-- By A Cricket Analyst

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