The Indian cricket team suffered a shocking one-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in the series opener in Dhaka. Chasing a target of 187 runs, the Bangladesh side was on a brink of defeat as they were reduced to 136/9 in the 187-run chase, however, Mehidy Hasan produced a sublime effort and took his side to victory. While the batters had a poor outing, the Indian bowlers performed well. However, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif raised questions on India’s death bowling.
Speaking at the post-match show on Sony Sports, Mohammad Kaif pointed out that the death bowling was one of the biggest issues for team India in the 1st ODI against Bangladesh. He said:
“It was India’s game, they had taken nine wickets. The bowling was excellent, they got India back into the game after the batters had a bad day. The bowling covered up for that until the 40th over, but the last 10 overs, who is our death bowler? Is it Deepak Chahar or Kuldeep Sen?”
It was in the 43rd over of the game, when Bangladesh needed 32 runs to win, KL Rahul dropped Mehidy’s catch. That missed catch proved to be very costly for India as Mehidy went on to play a match-winning knock for his side. That’s not it, in the very next ball Washington Sundar did not attempt to take the catch. Highlighting the game-changing moments, Kaif said:
“We dropped catches. KL Rahul doesn’t keep that often. He is a good fielder, he ran out Litton Das with a direct hit from the deep in the T20 World Cup. Sundar didn’t dive to try and take the catch.”
Furthermore, Kaif said that the team India crumbled under pressure during the last few overs of the game. Speaking at the post-match show, Kaif said:
“I am disappointed that we are crumbling under pressure. You can talk about captaincy or bowling changes. The game went well until the 40th over, but then came Mehidy Hasan Miraz and showed the Bangladesh batters how to play.”
Notably, the Indian cricket team was bundled out for just 186 runs in 41.2 overs. The batters had a poor outing for India no batter excluding KL Rahul (73 off 70 balls) stepped up and looked comfortable on the crease. The 2nd ODI match will be played at the same venue on December 4, while the third ODI is scheduled to take place on December 10 in Chattogram.
