Tigers come from behind to defeat India in thriller

Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman held their nerve to stitch an unbeaten lastwicket stand of 51 off 41 balls to stun India and help Bangladesh win by one wicket in their ODI series opener at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Sunday. In a match that ebbed and flowed all the time, Bangladesh seemed to be on their way to chasing 187 after Shakib Al Hasan’s fifer and Ebadot Hossain’s four-fer bowled out India for a paltry 186 in 41.2 overs.

For India, KL Rahul made a fine 73 off 70 balls, but did not get any support from rest of the batters, who were caught in playing either inside or outside the line as the visitors fell to their second lowest ODI total against Bangladesh. But the Indian bowlers, led by Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar, did well as Bangladesh collapsed from 95/3 to 136/9 in 39.3 overs. With the hosts’ looking down and out, the result seemed a foregone conclusion. But Mehidy had other ideas, slicing short balls from debutant Kuldeep Sen over the third man for a brace of sixes in the 41st over. Deepak Chahar’s introduction in the 44th over did not change India’s fortunes as Mehidy scooped past the keeper and flayed over point to hit back-to-back boundaries.

Mustafizur, who was off the mark with a punch through offside, glanced Thakur through fine-leg for four in the 45th over as the equation for the win came down to 10. Mehidy took Bangladesh to striking distance of a victory by slicing a short ball from Chahar in the 46th over past the third man. A no-ball while taking a single and a tight run later, Mehidy finished off the chase with a punch through cover on the last ball of the over to give Bangladesh an unforgettable come-from-behind win, being unbeaten at 38, with Mustafizur being 10 not out as India wilted under pressure in the last six overs.

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