A five-wicket haul by all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and four-fer by pacer Ebadot Hossain rattled Indian batting as the visitors were bundled out for just 186 runs in the first One Day International (ODI) of three-match series against Bangladesh at Dhaka on Sunday.
KL Rahul was the lone warrior for India with his half-century. KL Rahul (73) stood tall, braving the fall of wickets from the other end.
India’s senior stars like Rohit Sharma (27), Shikhar Dhawan (7) and Virat Kohli (9) failed to fire as Shakib (5/36) and Ebadot (4/47) troubled the Indian batters.
Put to bat first by Bangladesh, spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz gave the hosts their first breakthrough by dismissing opener Shikhar Dhawan for just 7 off 17 balls.
In an attempt to reverse sweep the ball, Dhawan’s wrist was hit by the ball and it ricocheted into the stumps. India was 23/1.
Skipper Rohit Sharma looked in good touch and was joined by Virat Kohli. The duo were playing their first ODI since July. At the end of 10 overs, India was at 48/1, with Rohit (27*) and Virat (9*).
In the next over, however, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan swung things in favour of the hosts, castling Rohit for 27 off 31 balls and sending back Virat for just nine off 15 balls, with skipper Litton Das taking a stunner of a catch at extra cover. At 49/3, India were in a spot of bother.
The fresh pair of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul took the innings forward. The duo was careful in their approach, relying mainly on strike rotation. Fast man Ebadot Hossain broke the stand at 43-runs, dismissing an in-form Iyer for 24 off 39 balls.
KL Rahul continued going, with all-rounder Washington Sundar at the other end. India reached the 100-run mark in 22.5 overs.
KL relieved some pressure from batters, smashing Miraz for four and six in the 30th over, bringing up a 50-run stand in 60 balls.
Rahul brought up his 11th ODI fifty in 49 balls with a stylish drive past point.
Shakib continued his golden run in the match, dismissing Sundar (19), Shardul Thakur (2) and Deepak Chahar (0) in quick succession to complete his five-wicket haul. Ebadot got Shahbaz Ahmed for zero.
India sunk to 156/8 in 34.4 overs. Ebadot got his third wicket of the match and he ended Rahul’s resistance at the crease. The batter scored 73 off 70 balls with five fours and four sixes. India was 179/9 and on the course of being bundled out before touching 200.
Ebadot hit the final blow, sending back Siraj for nine. India was bundled out for just 186 runs.
Shakib was the pick of the bowlers with 5/36, Ebadot also took 4/47.
Brief Scores: India: 186 in 41.2 overs (KL Rahul 73, Rohit Sharma 27, Shakib Al Hasan 5/36) vs Bangladesh.