5 Most Memorable India v Bangladesh ODI Encounters
After shocking the fans by defeating Pakistan convincingly in the last Super 4 fixture, Bangladesh made their way to their third consecutive Asia Cup finals. With India already booking a slot in the finals two days ago, the clash between the two neighbouring countries will be a rematch from the finals of the T20 edition of Asia Cup from two years ago. India convincingly defeated Bangladesh then to win their 6th Asia Cup.
However, Bangladesh cricket team has improved leaps and bounds since that encounter and, after making it to the Semi-Finals of the Champions Trophy last year, have discarded the tag of a weak team that stuck with them for many years. India, on the other hand, is easily the best team in the world right now that is capable of defeating any team. Hence, the match promises to be a sensational showdown in the deserts of Dubai.
India and Bangladesh have a very storied history in ODI Cricket, with both teams having won high stakes matches against the other in the past. While India been the dominant side of the two throughout history, Bangladesh has always chipped in now and then with a surprise victory. Ahead of their high voltage clash, here are the 5 most memorable India v Bangladesh ODI encounters.
#5 Second ODI, India's Tour of Bangladesh 2004 (Dhaka)
This was a monumental day for Bangladesh Cricket Team, because this was the first time in International Cricket History that they defeated India. Despite having the status as an ODI team for over 15 years, this was only their third ever win over a Test playing nation, after Pakistan at 1999 Cricket World Cup and Zimbabwe in 2004, but was certainly the one that announced their true arrival into the Big Boys' game.
After losing the first match of India's tour to Bangladesh by just 11 runs, the host were highly motivated to take the challenge to India in the next match. Batting first, Bangladesh had a tough time against the strong Indian bowling, with both Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik jolting them with early breakthroughs. A sensible knock of 67 runs from Aftab Ahmed, however, took them to a respectable 229/9 in their 50 overs.
Despite the average target, India started poorly by losing two quick wickets in the first 4 overs. S Sriram and Mohammad Kaif tried to stabilize the inning with gritty knocks of 57 runs and 49 runs respectively, but the trio of Tapash Baisya, Mohammad Rafique and Mashrafe Mortaza took 5 wickets in a span of 5 over to bring an end to their momentum. This ended up producing a big difference as India were all our for just 214, falling 15 runs short of the target.