India finally put in the kind of performance they were expected to, outclassing Bangladesh by a huge margin in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) at Dhaka on Wednesday. After India lost the first two matches of the series, they came back strongly to end the series on a high. Suresh Raina followed up his quick-fire 38 with three wickets as well, as India pulled off a 77-run win. CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Bangladesh, 3r ODI at Dhaka
Dhawal Kulkarni got the ball rolling early when he had Tamim Iqbal trapped LBW for 5. Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das then put up a terrific counterattacking stand. Sarkar was on a different plane entirely, hitting 40 off 34 balls with five fours and two sixes. The young southpaw showed tremendous timing and power, and while he was in the middle it looked like Bangladesh were on track. UPDATES: India vs Bangladesh, 3rd ODI at Dhaka
Litton was then joined by Mushfiqur Rahim. The duo came together at 62 for 2 and put up a round 50 before Mushfiqur was caught behind off Suresh Raina. That was the last reasonable partnership of the innings though. Litton was out for 34 six runs later. Shakib Al Hasan then holed out to Kulkarni off Raina. READ: India were comprehensively outclassed by Bangladesh; no fluke involved
Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain fought for a while, but by the time they added 49 the match was fast hurtling out of their grasp. Sabbir was bowled by Stuart Binny for 43, and Nasir was caught by Ambati Rayudu off Ashwin. The Indian bowlers were all over Bangladesh by this point, and ensured that India got revenge for the first two losses by pulling off a huge win. READ: Mustafizur’s and other great Bangladesh ODI performances against India
Earlier, India finally got over the Mustafizur Rahman threat, and in the process put on their highest total of the series. Shikhar Dhawan continued his fine form with an attractive 75, while MS Dhoni continued batting at No. 4 and scored a valuable 69 as India piled on a substantial 317 for 6. READ: India vs Bangladesh 2015, 3rd ODI at Dhaka: How India can beat Bangladesh
India’s innings was built on several partnerships, some brief and others productive. Rohit Sharma and Dhawan started off well, putting on 39 in seven overs before Rohit once again fell to Mustafizur. He had scored a run-a-ball 29 with two fours and a six. Virat Kohli came in at No. 3 and looked set for a big score before missing a slog off a straight ball. READ: India’s overseas woes touch new lows with series defeat to Bangladesh
Kohli and Dhawan added 75 for the second wicket, and as they did in the last match, scored their runs at a fair clip. Kohli hit just one boundary, but he was looking quite secure in the middle. However, he suffered a brain breeze when on 25 and ended up getting bowled off a simple ball. In walked Dhoni at No. 4, and promptly added 44 with Dhawan. READ: Virat Kohli’s poor form: What is going wrong for India’s talismanic batsman?
Meanwhile, Dhawan was batting fluently at his end. He played some trademark drives and cuts, but would feel he missed out on a century when he pulled a short ball straight to short midwicket. His 75 had come off 73 balls with 10 boundaries. Dhawan’s dismissal brought in Ambati Rayudu, and there was another excellent partnership between them. READ: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja’s forms have direct impact on India’s fortunes
Rayudu gave Dhoni excellent company, running well and playing some good shots in his 49-ball 44. He was finally out to a terrible umpiring decision; he tried to play a strange cross batted shot but he missed the ball, which went off his pads to the wicketkeeper. Bangladesh appealed and were duly awarded Rayudu’s wicket. Rayudu was furious at the dismissal, and walked back in obvious disdain. READ: Dropping Ajinkya Rahane was the right call
Dhoni himself was out soon thereafter, getting a leading edge off a slower ball from Mortaza for a well-compiled 69 off 77 balls. Suresh Raina and Stuart Binny then got some quick runs at the end. Raina especially got India some useful runs at the end, scoring 38 off just 21 balls, as India finally got a substantial score in the series. READ: Is Virat Kohli a cheat? Bangladesh umpire Sharfuddoula seems to think so!
Brief Scores:
India 317 for 6 in 50 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 75, MS Dhoni 69; Mashrafe Mortaza 3 for 76) beat Bangladesh 240 in 47 overs (Soumya Sarkar 40, Sabbir Rahman 43; Suresh Raina 3 for 45) by 77 runs.
Man of the Match: Suresh Raina
Man of the Series: Mustafizur Rahman
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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