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CRICKET-MUSHFIQUR-WIN
Mushfiqur heroic scripts Tigers’ memorable victory
NEW DELHI, Nov 3, 2019 (BSS) – Mushfiqur Rahim buried the nightmare of Bangalore with an epic 43 ball-60 not out and thereby sealed Bangladesh’s first T20 victory over India in the first of three-match series at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.
Fittingly Mushfiqur Rahim got Mahmudullah in his company when Bangladesh overhauled India’s 148-6, making 154-3 with three balls spare to clinch the memorable victory.
Mahmudullah was Mushfiqur’s partner-in-crime in that ill-fated night Bangalore in 2016, when both of them played manic shot to gift their wickets in consecutive two deliveries off Hardik Pandya as Bangladesh failed to score two runs in three balls to concede a painful one-run defeat.
While Hardik Pandya became national hero overnight by scripting India’s unlikely victory in that tournament, Hardik’s brother Krunal Pandya did the opposite. He shelled a catch of Mushfiqur in the 18th over, when the batsman was on 38. Had he not dropped the chance and subsequently conceded the boundary, the story could have been different.
However this time when Mushfiqur played the match-winning innings, Mahmudullah sealed the deal with a glorious six over deep midwicket to clinch the victory and was not out on 15 off 7 balls.
Time and again, both of the batsmen said the pain of one-run defeat would never erase had they not beat India at India’s soil in their life. And three years after that horrific night, New Delhi, gave them the occasion to exalt and quelled the pain they were carrying.
This was indeed much-needed victory for Bangladesh and gave them a fresh lifeline. The country’s cricket plummeted to new low after the Test defeat to Afghanistan at home soil.
Moreover, from players’ strike for renovating country’s cricket structure to the ICC imposing a two-year ban on their regular Test and Twenty20 skipper Shakib Al Hasan for failing to report corrupt approaches of bookies, Bangladesh cricket has faced a turbulent two weeks.
And that one victory, that too against the mighty neighbor, at least came as a soothing pleasure in the Bangladesh cricket’s worst moment.
Mushfiqur indeed took Bangladesh closer to the victory with 18-run in the penultimate over, including four straight boundaries off Khalil Ahmed.
Bangladesh needed just four runs to win the game in the last over and captain Mahmudullah fittingly sealed the deal with a six over deep midwicket to record the side’s memorable victory in ninth attempt. Mushfiqur Rahim shared 60-run with Soumya Sarkar (39) for the third wicket stand to lay the platform.
Bangladesh lost opener Liton Das cheaply in the first over but Mohammad Naim, who made his debut steadied the ship with 46-run partnership with Soumya Sarkar for the second wicket stand.
Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Naim for 26 before Mushfiqur and Soumya shared match winning partnership. However when Khalil Ahmed got the better of Soumya with a slower, things looked ominous. But Mushfiqur was determined to bury the ghost of Bangalore.
The Bangladesh bowlers earlier put up a sterling performance to restrict a much-vaunted India batting line up to mediocre total after Mahmudullah rightly chose to bowl first.
Pace bowler Shafiul Islam and leg-spin sensation Aminul Islam Biplob led the charge with two wickets apiece while the other bowlers assisted them in strangling the Indian batsmen.
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was the highest scorer for the side with 42 ball-41, hitting three fours and a six. Rishab Pant was the other notable score with 27 off 26, sending the ball across the ropes for thrice.
New ball bowler Shafiul though conceded two boundaries in first over, he returned with the wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma.
Basically Sharma’s early dismissal paved the way for Bangladesh to hurl the baton on Indian batsman as the bowlers got hugely motivated.
In his just second match, Aminul’s double wicket haul in quick space pegged back Indian innings. However Rishab Pant accelerated the innings in the middle overs alongside Dhawan before Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundor gave the finishing touch.
The duo took 16 runs in the last over to help India reach closer to 150 runs mark.
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