BAN vs IND: What happened the last time India played an ODI in Dhaka?
Following their 0-1 defeat in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand, Team India will want to make a strong comeback when they face Bangladesh away from home.
The two Asian teams are set to feature in a three-match ODI series, starting on Sunday (December 4). The next two matches will be played on December 7 and December 10. All the encounters will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka.
The big stars are back 🤩
India’s tour of Bangladesh begins from tomorrow 🏏🇮🇳🇧🇩
#India #TeamIndia #BANvIND #CricketTwitter https://t.co/emudNza7Ol
Bangladesh, the hosts, suffered a huge blow prior to the series when their designated skipper, Tamim Iqbal, endured an injury during a practice session and will miss all three games. In-form batter Litton Das will take the helm of his side in the absence of Iqbal.
Team India, meanwhile, will be bolstered by the return of regular players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, who opted to rest out of the previous tour to New Zealand.
So far, the Men in Blue have featured in 22 ODIs in Dhaka, winning 14 and losing seven of those games. An encounter against Bangladesh in 2014 ended in a no-result due to rain.
Situated right in the heart of the country, the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium will offer an even contest between bat and ball. The batters will get good help from the surface, especially while facing pacers. The pitch is known to be a spin-friendly surface and spinners will come in handy in the middle overs. The surface usually gets a little slower in the second innings.
India won the last game they played in Dhaka against Bangladesh in 2015
India beat Bangladesh by 77 runs in the 3rd ODI. Bangladesh win the series 2-1. #BANvIND http://t.co/hP7m2MqKpY
The last time Team India toured Bangladesh was in June of 2015. The two teams competed in a three-match ODI series, which was handsomely prevailed by Bangladesh.
The Mashrafe Mortaza-led unit bagged the series after winning the first two ODIs in Dhaka. The third ODI was also played at the same venue, with India winning the game to avoid a whitewash.
After being put to bat first, India lost Rohit Sharma (29) after a decent start but managed to maintain a healthy run rate through a 75-run stand for the second wicket between Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli (25).
Dhawan looked in sublime touch and hit ten fours en route to his knock of 75 runs off 73 balls before getting holed out in the 27th over.
Skipper MS Dhoni then took matters into his own hands and scored a well-made 69. Dhoni, alongside decent contributions from Ambati Rayudu (44) and Suresh Raina (38), took India's first innings total to 317/6.
Soumya Sarkar gave Bangladesh a rollicking start in their chase despite losing his opening partner Tamim Iqbal (5) in the second over. However, pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, who also dismissed Tamim, pegged Bangladesh back by sending back the dangerous Sarkar after his 34-ball 40.
Afterwards, almost all the Bangladeshi batters did reach double figures and enjoyed a start, but none could hold one end up and take their side closer to the target.
A batting collapse in the middle-over saw them lose eight of their wickets inside 128 runs. As a result, the hosts were bundled out of 240 runs in 47 overs.
Raina, whose knock ensured a 300-plus total for India, was the most successful bowler with his part-time off-spin while picking up 3/45 in his eight overs. The southpaw was even adjudged as the Player of the match for his all-round efforts.