The first ODI between India and Bangladesh was a heated affair as both teams fought tooth and nail at the Sher-e- Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The match evolved into a battle of nerves in the second innings as Bangladesh batters struggled against India’s disciplined bowling attack. The match may not have gone in India’s favour but it saw the return of vintage and fiery Virat Kohli in the field. Kohli was involved in a heated moment with Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim. The incident occurred in the 29th over of Bangladesh’s innings when Rahim played a ball by Shardul Thakur to covers.
Kohli pounced on the ball and aimed a throw at the stumps. But Rahim, who was well inside his crease, countered Kohli by stepping aside and daring him to execute the throw at the stumps.
Though Kohli couldn’t contribute much with the bat, he had a great day in the field as he pulled off a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Shakib Al Hasan. The star India batter showed tremendous athleticism to take the catch by diving towards his left.
After Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field first, India was restricted to a paltry total of 186 runs. Apart from KL Rahul, most of the batters struggled on the challenging pitch of Dhaka. Rahul’s 73 off 70 balls helped India to reach a small but competitive total. The hosts bottled up the chase and had a horrendous start when Najmul Hossain Shanto was dismissed on the first ball of the innings. Although skipper Litton Das steadied the ship with 41 off 63 balls, Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
In the low-scoring potboiler, Bangladesh slipped from 128 for 4 to 136 for 9 and it looked like Team India would clinch the game. However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman had other ideas. They stitched together an astonishing last-wicket stand of 51 runs to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Despite the loss, India had a few positives to take including the disciplined bowling by the pacers. Mohammed Siraj emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the game for India as he scalped 3 wickets from his quota of ten overs.
Bangladesh has now taken a 1-0 lead and will aim to register an improbable series victory against India in the second ODI on December 7.
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