Movement started in the gallery after Afif Hossain was out. Mirpur Sherebangla Stadium’s gallery, which was packed to the brim, became empty since then. On the way, many spectators saw Ibadat Hossain and Hasan Mahmud get out without opening the run book. 51 runs for the victory of the Bangladesh team, with only 1 wicket in hand.
If anyone can be called a recognized batsman, Mehdi Hasan Miraj should be named. 7 or 0 next to his name. Another is Mostafizur Rahman. In such a situation, no one would dare to bet on Bangladesh’s victory against India—that’s natural. But the two at the crease had a sea of confidence.
The two remained unbroken for the tenth wicket to give Bangladesh an incredible 1-wicket win. Mirage ended up unbeaten on 38 off 39 balls. 10 runs came from Mustafiz’s bat.
It was not possible to guess which direction this Bangladesh-India match was going from the first innings. Despite restricting India to 186 runs courtesy of Shakib Al Hasan’s 5 wickets and Ibadat Hossain’s 4 wickets on the uneven pace wicket of Mirpur Stadium, Bangladesh’s victory could not be said out loud. Many people in the press box were saying in alarming voices – ‘Jitbe to?’
Bangladesh team’s run chase did not start well at all. On the first ball of the innings, Deepak Chahar found the outside edge of opener Nazmul Hossain’s bat. Rohit Sharma at slip took the low ball easily. Nazmul out for no run.
Enamul Haque’s innings was not too long after falling for three. Mohammad Siraj scored 14 runs in 29 balls and took a simple catch at short mid-wicket. Enamul’s slow partnership of 26 runs with Liton Das did not allow Bangladesh to score big runs in the powerplay. Bangladesh scored only 30 runs in the first 10 overs.
But that loss was compensated well by Shakib Al Hasan. At the crease, Siraj hit the cover boundary for a four and gave the Indians a message. Take Lytton along and take the run rate from 3 to 4. In the context of the match that seemed sufficient. But Liton-Shakib’s out changed the picture of the match instantly.
Both are victims of Washington Sundar. Litton, who scored 41 off 63 balls, was gloved by wicketkeeper Lokesh Rahul. Shakib drives that beautiful ball for a four and departs with an incredible catch by Virat Kohli at cover. The course of the match turned towards India then.
The batting of the Bangladesh team became open after the departure of the two batsmen who were playing comfortably. But only 91 runs are needed for victory, 27 more overs of the match are left. Mushfiqur Rahim (18 from 45 balls) and Mahmudullah (14 from 35 balls) played a slow-paced innings keeping such an equation in front. Both added 33 runs off 69 balls before being dismissed. Couldn’t hit a single boundary.