India vs Bangladesh, 3rd ODI: Major talking points
There was a sense of relief in the body language of the Indian team members when Ambati Rayudu trapped Mustafizur Rahman in front to bowl out Bangladesh and give India a 77-run win in the third and final ODI of the series, which the Men in Blue lost 1-2.
There was hardly any celebration. MS Dhoni didn’t take off the stumps as he usually does nor Suresh Raina patted the back of his teammates. It has been that kind of tour for India where the ‘not’ happened more.
In the third ODI, India can certainly look at some positives and can improve on other points. Here is a look at some of the plays from the match.
Rohit and Virat: Their innings were contrasting. Rohit was fluent and playing with ease until Mustafizur Rahman dismissed him for the third time in the series. Virat was patchy, searching for runs. But both had a similarity. After getting decent starts, Rohit and Virat threw away their wickets.
While Rohit was undone by a delivery which went with the angle, Kohli attempted a wild slog off Shakib’s bowling only to see the ball disturb the stumps. Virat’s latest failure makes it 10 matches since he last crossed the 50-run mark, which came against Pakistan in the World Cup.
Dhoni special: He has made it very clear that he wants to bat up the order and is likely to continue at number four. For the record, MS Dhoni has the highest average (62) for a number four batsmen in ODI history (minimum 1000 runs).
Dhoni provided solidity in the middle and gave the lower batsmen the platform to go for the attack. We may see this happening more – Dhoni at number four, a solid fifty and India scoring more 300s.
Indian bowlers: MS Dhoni openly critisied his pacers on Wednesday. Even the spinners were not upto the task. It was the part-time spinner Suresh Raina who took three wickets. When your batsmen put a 300-plus total score on the board, the bowlers get more confidence to defend.
Indian bowlers have failed to defend a total below 300 this year. Except for the World Cup, Wednesday’s match was the only instance where they bowled out their opposition.
Looking at the way the bowlers have performed, it can be said that their success depends on the total the Indian batsmen put on the board.
Bangladesh’s fighting spirit: No doubt they have evolved as an ODI team. Ten wins on the trot at home is a proof of that. They have a stable and an attacking opening pair in Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar. The latter crafted some beautiful shots upfront in the third ODI.
The same can be said about Litton Das and Sabbir Rahman. Both got starts and were looking good for a big score. Bangladesh have a great batting line-up and luckily for them, most of their batsmen are in form.
If they can keep wickets in hand while chasing, they can pull off more wins, which will help them win abroad. Against India, they showed good fighting spirit and will look to build on it when South Africa tour Bangladesh next month.
