What happened the last time India played an ODI in Chattogram?
India and Bangladesh will play each other in the third ODI of the ongoing three-match series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on December 10.
The hosts have already won the series after being victorious in the first two matches. They continued their unbeaten record in bilateral ODI series at home since 2017.
The Men in Blue will be looking to win the final fixture to salvage some pride. Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be eyeing a whitewash. This will give them a huge confidence boost going into the two-match Test series starting from the 14th.
💬 💬 "Every game is important for us."
Here's what @Sundarwashi5 said ahead of the third & final #BANvIND ODI.
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So far, Team India has played three ODIs in Chattogram. They won two of those games which were played at the MA Aziz Stadium. The other match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium was abandoned.
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium was assigned Test-host status in 2006. It also hosted two group-stage games at the 2011 World Cup. It has a seating capacity of approximately 20,000. The pitch is generally batting-friendly but may assist the fast bowlers initially. The average score batting first in the last 5 ODI matches has been 259.
India won the last game they played in Chattogram against Bangladesh in 2004
This match happens to be special for one more reason - it was MS Dhoni's international debut. Bangladesh won the toss and put India in to bat in the first ODI of the series at the MA Aziz Stadium. They lost three early wickets - Sourav Ganguly (0), Sachin Tendulkar (19) and Yuvraj Singh (21) within the first 13 overs.
The onus was on Dravid (53) and Kaif (80) to stabilize the innings for the team. The duo formed a crucial partnership, scoring 128 runs in 28 overs. They set up the base for a death overs flourish by keeping wickets in hand and reaching a respectable total at the 40-over mark.
However, India happened to lose quick wickets. Dhoni had a disastrous start as he was run out on the first ball. Ajit Agarkar (25) and Irfan Pathan (21) added some vital runs in the lower order. They managed to reach 245/8 in the first innings.
Dhoni made his debut on 23rd december 2004 against Bangladesh. He got run-out in the first ball, miscommunication with Kaif.
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In response, India bowled well for the majority of the second innings. They also picked up early wickets. Opposition captain Habibul Bashar was in no mood to give up though. He scored 65 off 96 deliveries and kept the hosts alive in the run-chase.
Wicket-keeper Khaled Mashud also stepped up for his team. He walked in to bat when Bangladesh required another 103 runs from the last 71 deliveries. Mashud scored a belligerent 50 off just 39 deliveries, which gave Tigers a ray of hope.
For India, left-arm spinner Sridharan Sriram was the pick of the bowlers with 3/43 in 9 overs. Joginder Sharma also bowled well on his debut, returning with figures of 1/28 in 8 overs. Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan were also among the wickets. The visitors managed to win the game by 11 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.