First ODI: Put simply, Bangladesh wanted the win more than India

Never before in the 29 One Day Internationals played between the two teams, had Bangladesh crossed a total of 300 against India. Shortly after posting a record total of 307 runs against their sub-continent neighbour, at the 30th attempt, star all-rounder Shakib al Hasan gave a quick mid-match interview. “We are 25 runs short,” he said. “We lost too many wickets at a crucial time.” There was no patting on the back, there was no self-congratulation. There was just disappointment at not making more. He was merely stating the fact, as after the start the home team had got – racing to 108 in 15 overs for the loss of a solitary wicket – a bigger score was definitely on the cards. [caption id=“attachment_2302404” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bangladesh are playing a brand of fearless cricket on a consistent basis. AFP Photos.[/caption] This remarkable self-belief is why Bangladesh is no longer the Asian minnow, at least in the shorter form of the game. Right from the moment the coin went up for the toss and Mashrafe Mortaza called it right, the aggression in the home side’s approach was evident. They chose to bat first, despite knowing there was forecast of rain during the chase. They opted for four genuine fast-bowlers and just two spin options, despite the pitch looking like a typical sub-continent belter. Their batsmen, Tamim Iqbal in particular, kept dancing down the track to attack the Indian fast bowlers, despite getting beaten or cramped for room on quite a few occasions. In the second innings, Bangladesh came at the Indian batsmen with everything they got. They were sloppy on the field at times with numerous overthrows and a couple of dropped sitters, but the effort was never less than 100 percent. They celebrated every Indian wicket with lung-busting roars. Bangladesh simply wanted the win more than India. Taskin Ahmed and 19-year-old debutant Mustafizur Rahman troubled the Indian openers in the first few overs of the chase, with the ball nipping and skidding under the lights. The scoreboard might have read 95 for 0 in the 16th over but India were anything but comfortable. Apart from Rohit Sharma, no one looked like they would play a long innings. Rahman, in particular, was outstanding on the night. None of the batsmen could pick his well-disguised off-cutters and it came as no surprise that all of his five-wickets came off them. It won’t be surprising if the Indians spend the next two days just watching videos of the young left-arm seamer to figure him out and that’s a credit to how he bowled in Dhaka. Earlier, Soumya Sarkar and Tamim wasted no time in going after India’s insipid fast bowling attack. Ashwin – who bowled beautifully for his three wickets - managed to pull things back along with Raina in the middle overs. But the moment Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma came back for their second spells, Shakib and Sabbir took them on. This was aggression backed by clever planning. “If you don’t express yourself in the middle, then all the talent you have is wasted,” Tamim said after the match. This was the ninth consecutive home ODI victory for Bangladesh. As the 79-run win was completed, Mortaza called Taskin over to re-enact the chest-bump from their World Cup quarter-final against India. This time there was no falling over. The two Bangladesh players – just like all their teammates on the night – stood tall.