Mehidy Hasan Miraz, an off-spin all-rounder, proved to be India's adversary for the second time in as many games by scoring his first ODI century and taking two wickets to aid Bangladesh in clinching the series with a thrilling five-run victory over India in the second ODI on Wednesday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS).
Mehidy led Bangladesh to a respectable 271/7 in 50 overs from 69/6 in 19 overs thanks to his unbeaten 83-ball hundred and veteran batsman Mahmudullah's fine 77. Together, they shared a massive 148-run stand for the seventh wicket. Their bowlers were ruthless in the defense, holding India to 65/4 in 18.3 overs.
Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Washington Sundar, and KL Rahul all fell within the first 19 overs, putting India in peril. They were helped out of it by Shreyas Iyer's 82 and Axar Patel's run-a-ball 56, who together scored 107 runs.
Despite having to leave the field and be unable to open due to tape on his injured left thumb in the second over, captain Rohit Sharma bravely batted at number nine and managed to knock an unbeaten 51 off 28 balls, putting Bangladesh in serious danger of losing the match. However, Bangladesh maintained their composure and kept their spotless record of not losing a series at home since October 2016 intact.
Nasum Ahmed was paddle-swept by Shreyas to start things off, and Axar then hit a six over the bowler's head. Shreyas quickly scored two goals off Mehidy, while Axar beat Shakib Al Hasan with a slog-sweep for a sizable six.
After scoring fifty runs, Shreyas was proficient with his square drive and slice against fast bowlers and used his feet well against spinners for boundaries. As he prepared to go big for another six, Mehidy was picked out by Shreyas at deep mid-wicket.
To get his second fifty of the year, Axar persisted with his clean lofts and slog sweeps against Nasum and Mehidy. When Ebadot Hossain squeezed him and made the batter hit straight to extra cover, he fell. As Deepak Chahar holed out and Shardul Thakur was stumped, the going grew tougher for India.
With his thumb hurt, Rohit swivel-pulled Ebadot for a pair of sixes before perfectly timing an off-drive. However, with Mustafizur bowling his first over in the 48th over and Mahmudullah allowing just one run in the 47th over, things appeared difficult for India.
In the 49th over, Rohit slog-swept and pulled Mahmudullah for a pair of sixes after being dropped twice in the deep. The all-rounder also castled Mohammed.
Rohit cut Mustafizur through third man and into the space between point and short third man with 20 needed off the last over. On the fifth ball, he drove the left-arm pace down the ground for a six, but Mustafizur got the last laugh when Rohit was unable to make a run on a yorker, giving Bangladesh an unassailable series lead.
When the top order failed to perform earlier, Bangladesh was in ruins. Sundar took three wickets while Siraj and Umran Malik bothered them with swing. But Mehidy and Mahmudullah banded together to save the hosts and spearhead a stunning comeback for Bangladesh.
Together with Nasum Ahmed's 18 not out, Bangladesh scored 68 runs in the final five overs as India's bowling misfired for the second time in the series. The situation was worse by Rohit's damaged thumb and Chahar's hamstring discomfort.
Mehidy started by cutting Sundar through backward point, while Mahmudullah was fortunate to have the top-edge of his shot off Siraj fly over the leaping keeper. The pair hammered the loose balls for boundaries while rotating the strike quite effectively.
Mehidy primarily hit goals from behind the square, and he even challenged Sundar by dancing down the field to score six goals by hitting over long-on. He then used the cut and slog-sweep against Axar's left-arm spin to absolute perfection.
After Mehidy reached his third ODI fifty, Mahmudullah joined the fray by hitting Malik for boundaries over mid-off and mid-on. Mahmudullah also reached his half-century four overs later, indicating a return to form.
Mahmudullah drove on the up, swat-pulled, and whipped off his wrists against the pacers, while Mehidy started the final ten overs phase with a nick off Thakur going to third man rope. When Malik rushed Mahmudullah with a quick short ball, the right-hander attempted to slash it but was caught behind by a diving keeper, ending the partnership.
Nasum kept up the offensive tempo by dragging Malik over mid-off for successive goals, and Mehidy added a third goal from the over with a top-edge over the goalkeeper's head.
Mehidy punched in the gap, drove off the front foot, and scooped Malik for three boundaries in the same over while Nasum maintained his onslaught by cleanly lofting Siraj over his head for six.
Mehidy moved across to skillfully slog Thakur over the backward square leg fence for six in the final over before throwing him high over deep mid-wicket for another maximum. With a single to long-on on the final ball of the innings, he completed his first ODI century in 83 balls, earning a thunderous standing ovation from the crowd.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 271/7 in 50 overs (Mehidy Hasan Miraz 100 not out, Mahmudullah 77; Washington Sundar 3/37, Umran Malik 2/58) beat India 266/9 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 82, Axar Patel 56; Ebadot Hossain 3/45, Shakib Al Hasan 2/39) by five runs