Tigers truly terrific
The Tigers have been trying to make the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium a fortified stronghold for quite some time. And on Thursday night they took a giant step towards achieving that goal with a surprisingly facile 79-run win against India.
The Tigers however needed a fresh pillar in debutant Mustafizur Rahman, the young left-arm paceman whose off-cutters thudded an Indian invasion in the most effective way possible in a match tipped as a grudge game for fans in this part of the world after that much talked-about MCG quarterfinal between the two teams in the World Cup.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The capacity crowd at the home of Bangladesh cricket in Mirpur were relentlessly chanting 'Mauka, Mauka', understandably ridiculing the popular Indian advertisement during the World Cup, well before the first of the three-match ODI series was done and dusted. They had reason to celebrate because the vaunted Indian batting was reeling at 195-8 by that time, chasing a commanding Bangladesh total of 307. India were eventually bowled out for 228 in 46 overs to concede only their fourth and perhaps their most demoralising defeat in 30 games against a team thriving to get out of the bottom of the ICC ODI rankings. And this win provided Bangladesh exactly that as the Tigers moved into the seventh place pushing West Indies behind.
Mustafizur had only one previous international outing -- a T20I against Pakistan -- before yesterday's match. But by the time he completed his ODI debut with a magnificent five-for, his off-cutters that doomed the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have certainly earned a place in Bangladesh's cricket folklore.
Bangladesh were staring down the barrel after wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim dropped two catches early in the Indian innings, but an inspired performance from Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur, coupled with an outstanding Nasir Hossain catch at cover, led to an amazing comeback for the hosts as they toppled India's top order.
If India's pacers were sent into hiding earlier in the day courtesy of some brilliant batting from Bangladesh at the top, the home side revelled in the glory of their new-found pace attack.
After the Tigers were bowled out for 307 in 49.4 overs, the home fans packed to the rafters in Mirpur expecting something special when India came out to bat against a four-pronged pace attack, something not associated with an otherwise spin-heavy Tigers.
After the left-right combination of Mustafizur and Taskin had troubled India openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit with the new ball, Rubel Hossain and skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza created opportunities to dismiss Dhawan in successive overs, only for them to be spilled by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur.
Mushfiqur, who has been going through a torrid time both with the bat and behind the wicket, first dropped the left-hander off Rubel while he was on 13. It was a healthy edge that Mushfiqur tried to grab with one hand in vain.
The next one off Mashrafe sparked a real comedy in the middle with umpire Rod Tucker ruling Dhawan out caught behind without noticing that Mushfiqur had dropped a sitter. He however quickly reverted his decision to avoid further embarrassment.
Mushfiqur finally grabbed one, but by that time the opening pair had clobbered 95 runs in 15.5 overs.
Taskin returned for his second spell and removed Dhawan and India's batting sensation Virat Kohli in successive overs and, much to the relief of the home fans, Mushfiqur obliged and smartly got hold of those nicks.
Kohli was out in the same fashion as in the World Cup quarterfinal against Bangladesh. This time he chased Taskin outside the off-stump after scoring one run. He had scored 3 in the World Cup game.
India were suddenly reduced to 101-3 after Rohit, who guided India against Bangladesh in the World Cup quarterfinal with an imperious yet controversial 137, was dismissed by Mustafizur for 63. He top-edged an attempted flick straight to the throat of Mashrafe at mid-off. And unfortunately for Rohit, that was not a high full toss and neither umpire called a no-ball.
The pace continued to baffle the Indian juggernauts and this time, the lack of it, an off-cutter from Mustafizur had Rahane caught magnificently at cover by an airborne Nasir, who timed his jump perfectly to pluck the ball out of the thin air.
On strode Dhoni with India tottering at 115-4. But the giant right-hander's only contribution to the match was an interesting shove that grounded the bony Mustafizur. The Indian captain might have done the right thing by executing what appeared to be a firm push on the bowler, who was standing in the way while Dhoni ran for a single. However, his act was greeted with disdain from the stands.
Dhoni departed soon after that unwanted episode, edging Shakib Al Hasan behind the wicket to Mushfiqur. For someone who has hardly seen Shakib showing much emotion after taking a wicket, it was a sight to behold as the bowler ran as if he had taken his 300th wicket.
Earlier in the day Bangladesh, after opting to bat, began in the best possible way as openers Soumya and Tamim shared a century stand for the first time against India. Both openers scored half-centuries.
The 102-run stand was brought to an abrupt end after Soumya was run out. Bangladesh then lost Litton Das and Mushfiqur in quick succession. In a bit of trouble, the Tigers roared back in the form of Shakib and Sabbir Rahman, who shared a half-century stand. While Sabbir hammered 41, Shakib hit 52.
The second ODI will take place at the same venue on Sunday.
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