So close yet so far. Bangladesh registered their first-ever win against team India in a T20 International after coming so close to winning in 2 of the previous games. It was just soul-crushing defeats for Bangladesh as they have faced India 8 times without a single win. Twice we have seen our players shed tears as they couldn’t finish the game victorious.
Twice we were close to winning but just couldn’t step over the line. After eight encounters at last Bangladesh team held strong and won their first game against the Asian rival India. It was Mahmudullah who finished the game in style along with Mushfiq in the 22 yards. We have seen this pair cry in vain as they were unable to snatch a victory for Bangladesh in the 2016 T20 World Cup against India.
Bangladesh fell short of runs and was on the verge of winning. Bangladesh’s team crumbled as they couldn’t take the pressure on the field. But this time it was a different story. Bangladesh stepped in with confidence and stepped out of the ground with its head held high.
It was a magnificent win for Bangladesh and what a time to win it against team India. With 2 of our key players not playing this tournament still Bangladesh managed to stay calm and play collective cricket to cherish their first T20 win against India with the Tigers roaring.
This was surely a landmark victory for Bangladesh. Mushfiqur Rahim singlehandedly fired Bangladesh to their maiden T20I win over India with an unbeaten 60, choking the opponent in their own smog and leaving the field with a 7-wicket win. It was a collective effort from all. Every player contributed their part in the game with some exceptional performance. The nineteenth over was the game changer as Mushi played Khaleel for four 4s. With his cheeky batting, Mushfiq managed to keep his nerves cool and play some amazing shots which leads Bangladesh to their first-ever win against their neighbor India.
Chasing 149, Bangladesh overhauled the target with three balls to spare with seven wickets remaining.
With Bangladesh needing 22 off the last 12 balls, Rahim (60 not out off 43) smashed four boundaries off as many balls in the penultimate over bowled by Khaleel Ahmed to tilt the game in his team’s favor.
He and Soumya Sarkar (39 off 35 balls) added 60 runs for the third wicket to steer Bangladesh closer to victory.
Rohit Sharma (the losing captain) said that the total they posted in the first innings was a “defendable score” but their mistakes in the field cost them dearly. The Indian skipper, however, didn’t dwell too much on pin-pointing who was at fault in the field and said that the “guys are a bit inexperienced, and they can learn from that, perhaps not make them the next time”.
Rohit also didn’t shy away from praising Bangladesh who put up a brilliant show, outclassing India in all three departments of the game.
“Not to take credit away from Bangladesh. They put us under pressure right from the start when we were batting,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
There were a few mistakes in decision-making as India missed two chances of reviewing on-field decisions for LBW against Mushfiq but they didn’t take it. In the same over later, they took a review that didn’t go their way. There were some basic fielding mistakes that cost India this game.
In the post-match presentation, Mushfiq said “It’s a great moment for Bangladesh cricket,” he began. “We haven’t won against them in T20 cricket before. The way all the young players stuck together and how the bowlers bowled on this track was outstanding. It was a defendable score as the wicket wasn’t easy to bat on.
“All the guys showed their character. We have nothing to lose in this game or in this series and this gave us a cushion and the potential to play fearless cricket,” he said of the players’ effort given the turbulence of the past few weeks.
Bangladesh came a long way and the surely learned from their mistakes. This is the key takeaway that you keep learning from your mistakes and keep working on it. Yesterday Bangladesh did everything right and it was a well-deserved win for them.
Congratulations Team Tiger