Cricket: Bangladesh Win First Ever ODI Series Against India!

Bangladesh have made history on the night of 21^st June, 2015 at Mirpur in Dhaka. On the first International Yoga Day they have made their golden day in cricket. They have won the first ever One Day International (ODI) cricket series against mighty India. Not only won, they have outplayed, mauled and humiliated India in all departments of the game and in every cricketing way possible. Bangladesh defeated India by 6 wickets with 9 overs to spare of the 47 allotted through D/L method due to rain interruption in the second ODI against India last evening. In the first ODI they won by 79 runs thus outclassing India in the series and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. For the first time the erstwhile ‘minnows’ have beaten India in two back to back ODIs. The sensational débutante of the first ODI, Mustafizur Rahman took an incredible haul of 11 wickets and became the first bowler in the world to do so in his first two one day internationals. And, Bangladesh have qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy to be played in England in 2017. What is more significant is that they have deserved this fully—displaying tremendous cricketing abilities. From here they can only go up and up in the ladder of world cricket.

Whatever chance Team India had of regrouping and giving it back to Bangladesh in this do or die encounter was nipped in the bud when Team management ‘changed’ the team. The primary reason why India lost in the first ODI was the casual and complacent approach of mainly the superstars. But the management, as usual, ‘managed’ to axe only the expendables—Ajinkya Rahane who could have been invaluable on his day and bringing in an IPL expert Ambati Rayudu; Umesh Yadav who could have been lethal with his pace and bringing in another IPL expert Dhawal Kulkarni and Mohit Sharma who could have been encouraged to find his line and length and brining in Axa Patel who perhaps had nothing to prove except being close to the Indian captain.  Yet again, the superstars performed in almost the same way as before while the ‘changes’ hardly changed anything. Nobody in the management seems to be aware of the fact that Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and to a lesser extent Rohit Sharma continue to be out of form and unpredictable.

This series calls for a lot of introspection for Indian cricket. In fact except for the bright interlude in the World Cup-2015 Team India has not been performing to its potential. It has reached the climax now. If the usual complaint of ‘too much cricket’ is to be held valid then the two-moth long IPL tournament comes into deep focus. Maybe the Indian cricketers were too tired after giving in everything for the dollars of the IPL. And for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, undoubtedly the most successful and positive Indian captain, this could finally be the end of the road as far as at least captaincy is concerned. He had already escaped from Test captaincy and nothing is clicking for him at the moment. His batting form continues to be dismal, his wicket keeping not being of top class and his captaincy is coming to be questioned most frequently. His ‘protection’ within the cricket Board also seems to be gone. However, for a cricketer of his class he should decide fast before being unceremoniously axed. 

Cricket: Bangladesh Thrash India, Captain 'Cool' Loses It!

Bangladesh proved it precisely and clinically--that their cricketers are a spirited and hugely improved lot, that they beating Pakistan squarely was not a fluke, that they running India close to elimination from the World Cup-2015 was not an aberration, and that they have now avenged their exit from the World Cup effectively, so-called it might be though. They had excelled in every department of the game in the first One Day International match against India in Dhaka last evening thrashing and humiliating India by 79 runs. Winning the toss and electing to bat first they raced to a big score right away, despite being put into a tight corner at least twice by India. The Indian pacers were made fun of and only some spinning ability prevented them from reaching even 400. There were no big individual scores, it being a total and spirited team effort. 

It seemed the Indian cricket superstars did not take them seriously enough. Even after conceding 307 runs Indian batsmen had a rather casual approach while chasing. A tight and beautiful pace bowling by the Bangladesh pacers beat both openers again and again, just missing the outside edge. Within first four overs both the openers could have been out. However, India did manage to have sound opening stand of 95 for no loss. Just then, Shikhar Dhawan had a lazy heave getting out caught behind. That started the slide of 'star' batsmen falling to casual shots. This is not to say that Bangladesh bowlers namely Taskin or Mustafizur were bowling loose. This is to say that the so-called quality batting of India had the potential to face up to it effectively. For once the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) made a correct decision sending a full-strength Indian squad, but the players could not muster the humility to treat them as at least equals. Mustafizur Rahman, making his ODI debut, had a brilliant haul of five wickets while keeper Mushfiqur Rahim held five great catches behind. At times Bangladesh tried a little too hard and was momentarily allowing the game to go the Indian way. 

When you make unnecessary mistakes you rue it very badly later, and get angry too. That was what probably happened to captain 'Cool' MS Dhoni. Seeing the match going away supposedly to a 'minnow' and that too due to his team's complacency he lost his cool and deliberately shoved Mustafizur on the way to a run. No doubt, Mustafizur cultivated a habit of standing on the batsman's way quite a few times in the match. But that did not permit the Indian captain to behave the way he did. This thrashing should act as an experience and also a warning for Team India in the following matches against Bangladesh, and perhaps in all their encounters against supposedly weaker sides. 

The Scorecard: 

Cricket: Rains Engineer A Draw For The India-Bangladesh One-Off Test!

It rained every day of the five days of the one-off Test match between India and Bangladesh at Fatullah. The second day's play was completely washed out and rains accounted for the loss of about 248 overs of the match, mind you, everyday you are supposed to play out 90 overs. This shows the poor planning of bilateral cricket series between the Asian neighbors. It was scheduled at a time when the South-West Monsoon hit India and advanced to most parts of the country. Besides, it was the only match that could be fitted into the madness. Now what will happen to the 3 one day internationals, nobody could guess. The first one is scheduled to start on June 18 in Dhaka. 

Ashwin With Virat

The test, in its realized portions, went the way it was expected with India dominating in all fields of the game. Winning the toss and electing to bat first India had to fight primarily its main opponent--the rains--than the Bangladesh bowlers. India lost the first wicket only after scoring in excess of 250 runs. Both of the openers scored big centuries each--Shikhar Dhawan 173 and Murali Vijay 150. Thanks to rain India had to go on playing till the end of the third day making 462 for 6 wickets. On the morning of the fourth day India declared and afterwards Bangladesh struggled and struggled. The rain curtailed fourth day saw them still at 111 for 3 with Indian spinner R Ashwin in top form. The recalled spinner Harbhajan Singh too bowled tight. Therefore, if at least a full day's play was available on the final day, there was no harm in fancying an Indian victory. 

However, when heavy overnight rains washed out first session's play today, a draw was inevitable. Even then, India put Bangladesh in some nail-biting moments by getting the hosts all out for a mere 256, lasting only for just 65.5 overs, and enforcing the follow-on. We cannot blame Virat Kohli now for not preventing Team India slipping down to No.4 in the ICC Test rankings. R Ashwin took 5 wickets and Harbhajan Singh 3 in the Bangladesh first innings. Bangladesh would really feel disappointed at not being able to avoid the follow-on, particularly after all the spice and expectations about their spirited performance. Mominul Haque too could not get his 12th consecutive Test fifty to equal AB de Villiers' record. Anyway, Bangladesh still has a lot to show in the three ODIs, rains permitting, of course. 

The Scorecard: