Bangladesh v India: Dhoni's men turned up for the game in body but not in mind

In the build up to this One Day International series against Bangladesh, the Indian players were saying the right things. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was back at the helm along with six other ODI specialists. The selectors had made it clear they were not taking this series lightly. [caption id=“attachment_2303672” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India were outplayed by Bangladesh in Dhaka and the players’ application left a lot to be desired. AFP Photos[/caption] “As you can see we are fielding our best team despite the hectic schedule,” Suresh Raina had said. “It shows how much importance we give to this series because it is not easy to beat Bangladesh now.” On the evidence of what we saw in Dhaka on Thursday, only half of what Raina said seemed correct – that the Bangladesh team is a force to be reckoned with at home. The other half about India giving great importance to this series feels a bit hollow after the hosts handed India a hammering at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. Bangladesh’s 19-year-old debutant Mustafizur Rahman stood firmly in India’s way – quite literally, on a couple of occasions – and the visitors folded without so much of a fight. The match ended late in the night, spilling over into the reserve day, but the result was evident right when the Indian top-order crumbled from 95 for 0 in 15 overs to 128 for 5 in 26 overs. India’s players, for the most part, turned up for the game in body but not in mind. Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma were pedestrian in the efforts, as Dhoni acknowledged after the game. With Tamim Iqbal dancing down the track almost every other ball in the opening spell, Umesh responded in kind with length balls and half-trackers. The sixth over of the innings, Tamim took 18 runs off a single over from Umesh, with the last ball muscled over extra cover for six. After the initial assault ended with Soumya Sarkar and Tamim getting out in quick succession, India began to claw their way back in the game in typical Dhoni-style. Suresh Raina bowled a miserly 10-over spell. When he and Ashwin were bowling in tandem, India looked in control of the game. But Mohit Sharma’s over just before the batting power play swung the momentum back in favour of the home side. Fifteen runs came off it as Mohit gifted Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman, long-hops and half-volleys. The fast bowlers steadfastly refused to apply themselves. And when Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin were taken for runs during the Batting Powerplay, it was no wonder that Dhoni had to go to the extent of giving Virat Kohli two overs. The essence of the story was much the same when India batted. Shikhar Dhawan played with the application of a youngster playing gully cricket just to take his minds off more important things. He was repeatedly beaten outside his off-stump and was even dropped twice. Virat Kohli played at a harmless delivery on the sixth stump outside off, feet not going anywhere in a hurry, eyes not on the ball. And then there is Dhoni’s batting, which is coming under increasing scrutiny with every passing failure. There were suggestions that he has been working on his technique to become his old, explosive self after his Test retirement – which he has since laughed off – but Dhoni the captain could really use Dhoni the batsman. All in all, a forgettable evening for the Indian players, made worse by the news that Dhoni will be fined 75 percent of his match fee for ‘shoving’ Mustafizur. Dhoni and his men will be desperate to turn it around and genuinely treating this is an important series, without merely paying lip-service, would be the best place to start.