India were played out of the park by Bangladesh in the 1st ODI in Mirpur – the home team just wanted the win more, and it showed in every facet of their game.
Come Sunday, India will have no more excuses if they fail to show up against this underestimate-them-at-you-own-peril Bangladesh side in the 2nd ODI Match.
Choosing to bat first after winning the toss, Bangladesh showed attacking intent with the willow, and even if they lost their way a little bit midway, there were batsmen putting their hands up to ensure that the 300-run mark would be breached comfortably enough.
India tailed off miserably in their chase, after the openers put on 95, and to make matters worse MS Dhoni was also involved in a bit of a shoving match with Mustafizur Rahman, the man who made such an impression on his ODI debut, picking up five wickets.
While that Dhoni-Mustafizur incident – an incident which cost the India skipper 75% of his match fee and the Bangladesh bowler 50% of his – might have been blown up a touch, it does show signs of this India side failing to find their groove after that rather meek exit to Australia in the semifinals of the World Cup.
There were parts of the quarterfinal, where Bangladesh, who with a series win will as good as seal their place in the Champions Trophy 2017, could have easily landed a telling blow, a blow which India would have failed to get up from, and while they negotiated that well enough, another repair-job is necessary to keep this three-match ODI series alive.
A loss to Bangladesh, and the series is not just gone, but also pride. India are the second-ranked ODI team in the world, and no matter how much this Bangladesh side might have improved, they need to do better.
To do that, the fast bowlers need to step up, because they were abysmal in the 1st ODI. Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed any kind of control, but the swing bowler did not look like picking up a wicket.
R Ashwin cannot do it all on his own with the ball, and it is up to the likes of Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav to make their mark, much like the Bangladesh pacers did last time out.
The buck does not stop with the bowlers, though, with the batsmen disappointing quite a bit as well. Having gotten starts, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan should have carried on, while Virat Kohli is struggling to hit that ball in the middle of the bat often enough.
MS Dhoni's batting powers seem to waning as well, while Ajinkya Rahane has still not quite figured out the ODI batting art. But, in sub-continental conditions, in particular, it is up to the top three to score the bulk of the runs, and pressure will be on Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli to do just that.
If that top three sparkles, though, then India should be primed for a series-levelling victory.
Where to Watch Live
Get Dhoni's story on batting at No.4 HERE
Get MS Dhoni's story on captaincy and new coach HERE
Get the Match Report HERE
India vs Bangladesh 2nd ODI Match is scheduled to begin at 3 pm local time (2.30 pm IST, 10 am BST, 5 am ET). Star Sports1 and Star Sports3 will show the match live in India and the rest of the sub-continent, with Bangladesh viewers also able to catch the action on GTV. India viewers also have the free to air option on DD National. The match can be watched online via live streaming on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Audience in the US can catch the game live on Willow TV, while the live stream option is on Willow TV Online.
North Africa and Middle East viewers can watch the match live on OSN Cricket, while the action can also be live streamed on OSN Cricket Play. Sub-Saharan Africa and South African audience can flip the remote to SuperSport, with the live streaming option on SuperSport Online.
