Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman held their nerve to stitch an unbeaten last-wicket stand of 51 off 41 balls to stun India and help Bangladesh win by one wicket in their ODI series opener at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Sunday.
In a match that ebbed and flowed all the time, Bangladesh seemed to be on their way to chasing 187 after Shakib Al Hasan's fifer and Ebadot Hossain's four-fer bowled out India for a paltry 186 in 41.2 overs. But the Indian bowlers, led by Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar, triggered a Bangladesh collapse from 95/3 to 136/9 in 39.3 overs.
With the hosts being down and out, the result looked like a foregone conclusion. But Mehidy had other ideas -- slicing short balls from debutant Kuldeep Sen over the third man for a brace of sixes in the 41st over. He had luck on his side in the next over as K.L Rahul dropped his catch at 15 off Thakur and Sundar did not go for a catch at third man on the very next ball.
