Rohit Sharma’s valiant knock goes in vain as Bangladesh clinch series

A contest that had thrill, drama, consistent flicker of scales and a captain’s knock to cap it all off, also left the visiting Indian side contorting in agony despite a miraculous turnaround towards the end. A valiant effort from the Indian captain with an injured thumb eventually went up in flames after Bangladesh managed to script a historic triumph, securing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing series.

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first on a pitch that promised horns aplenty for the bowlers in the opener. As the surface would have it, the Indian bowlers had a fine start, razing through the Bangladesh top-order like a fireball through skittles. A double whammy from Mohammed Siraj left the hosts stuttering while Washington Sundar’s twin strikes left the hosts swept off their feet.

Umran Malik belted a 151-click sizzler to cannon through the defences of Najmul Hossain Shanto while Washington Sundar returned for a third, leaving Bangladesh hobbling at 69 for 6. However, that is the last time that Indian bowlers will have something to cheer about as a match-defining partnership between Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan Miraj ensued, and all that the visitors could do was pick the ball from beyond the boundary ropes.

A 148-run stand between Mehidy Hasan Miraj and Mahmudul propelled Bangladesh to a pedestal from which the former picked up the reins and started sprinkling his own stardust while the Indian bowlers once again let the hosts slip from the very jaws of a catastrophe.

Chasing 272, India had to make an unplanned change to their batting order with Virat Kohli forced to open the innings after captain Rohit Sharma copped a major blow to his right thumb while fielding. Before India could figure a way out of the early jeopardy, Bangladesh dealt three crucial blows to the Indian aspirations, bagging the all-important wickets of Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Washington Sundar.

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer tried to rebuild the innings but the former couldn’t sustain for long and had to take a long walk back to the pavilion. It was eventually Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel who came together to stabilize India’s ship and drive them towards a decent score. The duo stitched together a 107-run stand for the fifth wicket with Shreyas Iyer hammering a crucial 82.

However, the departure of Shreyas Iyer led to another collapse that saw India losing a flurry of wickets, leaving them stranded at 213 for 8. It was then that Rohit Sharma walked out to bat in the middle with an injured thumb and took the entire roster by surprise. Despite of the pain and stitched, he hammered a tempestuous 51 from just 28 balls, ushering India to 266 before missing out the final ball of the innings as the Indian heads slumped down in despair by just 5 runs.