Bangladesh defeat India in an ODI series after 7 years. How did India get here?

In what comes as a big shocker for Indian cricket fans, the Indian team lost the second ODI against Bangladesh by six runs, thereby losing the three-match series. The Indian batting line-up was outclassed by Bangladeshi bowlers Ebadot Hossain (3 wickets), Shakib al Hasan (2 wickets) and Mehidy Hasan Mirza (2 wickets). Chasing a target of 272, India managed to score only 266-9.

• Rohit Sharma batted with an injured thumb, at the ninth spot, and tried his best to take India across the finishing line. But the skipper fell short by just six runs as he scored a good knock of 57 off 28 balls.  

Chasing a total of 271, Indian team was down at 65/4 and it looked that the team might struggle to reach even 200. However, it was Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel who stitched a 107-run partnership and rescued the team, bringing the score closer to the target.

Like India, Bangladesh's innings too started on a slippery note as the team was down at 69-6 in 19 overs and it appeared that the team would struggle to cross 200.

• It was the scintillating partnership  of 147 runs between Mehidy Hasan and Mahmadullah that took the total to 217-6 in 46 overs. By the end of  innings, Bangladesh had posted 271-7, which was a decent total.

Bangladesh pounces back after a poor start in the first innings: 

• Right-arm medium pacer Mohammad Siraj struck in the early overs. Within the first 10 overs, Siraj sent openers Litton Das and Anamul Haque to the pavilion. 

   

• Umran Malik struck in the 13th over, dismissing Najmul Hossain Shanto with his fiery 150 kmph ball. 
• From the 16th over, off-spinner Washington Sundar broke the spine of middle order as he clinched three wickets, sending Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Afif Hossain Dhrubo packing.

The Bangldeshi team was down on its knees as the scoreboard read 69-6.

• But then, Mehidy Hasan and Mahmudullah did what nobody expected. The duo started off slow but built a steady 50-run partnership with Mehidy leading the charge.

The two took the score from 69-6 to 217-6 by the 46th over, building a 147-run partnership in 27.5 overs.

• Mahmudullah was dismissed at 77 (96) in the 46th over by Umran Malik but by then, he had done his part. 
• Soon, Mehidy started his fireworks and by the end of innings, got his maiden century. In the last 57 balls, Bangladesh scored 93 runs. 
• The team was at a comfortable score of 271-7.

India loses momentum in the last 15 overs of the second innings:

Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan opened the innings. Due to an injury in his right thumb, Rohit Sharma sat in the dressing room.

• But before Kohli could take off, he was outsmarted by Ebadat Hossain's short length delivery outside the off stump that got the inside edge of Kohli's bat and hit the stumps. Kohli was sent to the pavilion at 5 (6).
• Shikhar Dhawan too was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman in the third over on 8 (10). In the 9th over,Washington Sundar was dismissed by Shakib al Hasan. The scoreboard looked troublesome at 39-3 in 9.5 overs.
• KL Rahul, who came in to bat at the No 4 position, was sent to the pavilion by Mehidy Hasan at 14.
• At 65, India was down by four wickets. 
• Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel settled down and built a decent 107-run partnership. The run-rate was under control as Iyer and Patel both went for lofty shots in quick succession. 
• Iyer, however, was dismissed on 82 (102) as he mistimed a full length ball of Mehidy Hasan towards deep midwicket and handed over a catch to Afif Hossain. 

   

Even then, India was at a comfortable position as it needed 100 off 91 balls. 

• Axar Patel, who got his half century and was batting at 56, got dismissed by Ebadat Hossain in the 39th over as he tried a pull shot towards extra cover. The shot didn't come from the middle of the bat and hence, it went straight into the hands of Shakib Al Hasan.
• India was in big trouble. The scoreline read 191-6 and India needed 78 runs in 11 overs. 
• To make the situation worse, Shakib stunned Shardul Thakur in the 43rd over by bowling a good length ball that turned inside and prompted Thakur to come across but he missed  it. Mushqfiqur Rahim made no mistake by stumping him.
• An injured Rohit Sharma walked to the crease.

By then, the Indian team was in a big trouble as the team needed 61 in 7 overs.  

• Though Rohit looked uncomfortable while batting, he stood the ground hitting the ball well.
• While Siraj and Chahar were dismissed, Rohit stood for the 10th wicket. 
• The match was down to 20 in the last over in which Rohit smashed Mustafizur for a six and two fours. But the team fell short by six runs, and a yorker from Mustafizur on the last ball when India needed six runs spoilt the game for Sharma.

What went wrong for India?

• The top order failed to deliver. Kohli, Dhawan, KL Rahul and Washington Sundar were sent to the pavilion within 70 runs. 
• Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel did their best to salvage the situation and were quite successful in their attempts before poor shot selections sent them back.
• The biggest drawback was a dearth of tail-end finishers like Hardik Pandya or Dinesh Karthik, whom the team desperately needed in the final overs.
• Had Rohit Sharma not been there for the 8th wicket, the team would have lost the match quite early. 

Rohit Sharma, along with 2 other players, out of the series: After the match, Head Coach Rahul Dravid said in the press conference that Rohit Sharma will not be able to play in the 3rd ODI on December 10 due to his thumb injury which he sustained during the second match. 

• Along with Rohit, Deepak Chahar, who was also injured, and Kuldeep Sen have been ruled out of the 3rd match.
• Dravid said that Rohit Sharma will fly to Mumbai to consult an expert on his thumb injury. At the moment, it is also not clear whether he will be back for the test series that starts on December 14. 
• In the absence of Sharma in 3rd ODI, Shikhar Dhawan is most likely to lead the side.

After losing two consecutive matches, India will only play the third and final ODI for grace on December 10, 2022 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram.