In the first ODI of the India-Bangladesh ODI series, the visitors were stunned by a spirited 10th-wicket partnership between Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman who saw the hosts over the line in a low-scoring thriller.
India were bowled out for 186 courtesy of a 5-fer by Shakib Al Hasan and 4-fer by Ebadot Hossain with KL Rahul scoring 73 runs. In reply, Indian bowlers kept things tight and struck regularly. Bangladesh had the upper hand when they were 128/4, but a collapse saw them slip to 136/9.
Mehidy Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman then conjured up a terrific, spirited, and fortunate partnership – with KL Rahul dropping a sitter of Mehidy – of 51* runs off 41 balls to register a miraculous 1-wicket victory.
This was Bangladesh’s only 7th win over India in 60 international matches, and only their second in 7 years. Bangladesh had defeated India in the 2015 home ODI series. If the Men In Blue are to avoid a repeat of the 2015 lost series, they need to bounce back in the second ODI on Wednesday at the same venue, Dhaka.
Here are 3 changes that India can make in the 2nd ODI vs Bangladesh:
Umran Malik in for Kuldeep Sen
Kuldeep Sen made his ODI debut in the 1st ODI and picked up the wickets of lower-order batter Afif Hossain and tailender Ebadot Hossain, who was hit wicket. But the young debutant was erratic in his lines, giving away a few extras plus also buckled under pressure when Mehidy smashed him for a couple of sixes. Overall, Sen leaked 37 runs in 5 overs, his economy of 7.2 in a low-scoring game hurt India badly.
India could, and perhaps should, bring in Umran Malik in the eleven for the next ODI. Even though Umran himself is young in international cricket, he’s had a decent amount of experience with the Indian team and also played in the full IPL season. Plus, Malik has the extra pace, the kind of which Bangladeshi batters are not used to and it would help to have someone bowl at 150 KPH on the slow and low Dhaka surface.
Axar Patel in for Shahbaz Ahmed
Axar Patel would have certainly played in the first ODI but, the BCCI said, he “was not available for selection for the first ODI”. According to Cricbuzz, Axar was hit on his ribs while batting at the nets and hence was not considered for the first ODI.
Instead of Axar, Shahbaz Ahmed played in what was only his 3rd career ODI. The lack of top-level experience was reflected as the southpaw was out for a duck and went for 39 runs in 9 overs, including being clattered for boundaries by Liton and Shakib.
Should Axar be fit and available for selection, he will walk into the XI, most likely in place of Shahbaz. Not only Axar is a 10-over bank but will also be a more wicket-taking option in the spin-friendly conditions in Dhaka than Shahbaz was.
As we saw with Shakib and Mehidy, the ball that didn’t turn and went on with the angle were difficult to play; we have seen with Axar that he can turn the ball away from the right-hander and also dart it in with the angle, making it really difficult to handle on pitches that offer turn.
Deepak Chahar should bat above Shardul Thakur
Although both Chahar and Thakur couldn’t do much with the bat in the 1st ODI, it has become clear in the past year that perhaps Thakur isn’t the batsman the Indian team management thinks he is in limited-overs cricket, and on the other hand, Chahar has proven his mettle in international cricket with the bat.
Since 2021, in ODIs, Chahar averages 43 at a strike rate of 104 with 2 fifties in 6 innings; in the same period, Thakur averages 26 at a strike rate of 107. What Chahar has also shown, on ODI tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa earlier, is that he is not just a slogger like Thakur is, but Chahar can bide the time and play according to the situation.
This begs for a promotion in the batting order for Chahar from number 9 to number 8, where Thakur batted in the first ODI. India were lighter in the batting department in the absence of Pandya and Jadeja, so they will need their bowling all-rounders to hang around for a longer time with the proper batters.
