India vs Bangladesh - Top 5 ODI contests that stay etched in memory

Bangladesh’s rise in international cricket has been marked by their massive improvement in the 50-over format over the past decade. Not only have they managed to beat the top teams in this period, they are a force to reckon with in their own backyard.

Over the years, their contests against India have been exciting affairs with the Bangladeshis coming hard at the Asian giants. If there is one team that the Bangladeshi cricket fans want their ‘tigers’ to beat, it is the ‘Men in Blue’.

With the two teams set to lock horns in the final of the Asia Cup once again, Hindustan Times takes a look at five one-day internationals between these two teams which have been immortalised due to scintillating performances on the field.

1) Bangladesh vs India - December 26, 2004: Historic day for Bangla Tigers

This was the second ODI of the three-match series. India had a narrow escape in the first match at Chittagong and the home team wanted to make a strong comeback. Batting first , the ‘Bangla Tigers’ put up 229 on the board, thanks mainly to Aftab Ahmed’s knock of 67 and some big hitting down the order by the young Mashrafe Mortaza, who remained unbeaten on 31.

India felt the absence of Sachin Tendulkar in this match as they had a poor start to their innings. Sridharan Sriram (57) and Mohammed Kaif (49) did raise hopes of a victory with a good partnership in the middle but the Bangladeshis struck at regular intervals to eventually win the match by 15 runs. It was their first victory over India in an international match.

2) India vs Bangladesh - March 17, 2007 - Bangladesh’s new generation causes major upset

This was meant to be an easy tournament opener for India at the 2007 ICC World Cup as they took on a young Bangladesh side. Captain Rahul Dravid decided to bat first at Port of Spain but the decision turned out to be a wrong one. The sluggish nature of the pitch was disconcerting for the Indian batsmen and Mashrafe Mortaza (4/38) made early in roads. The slow left arm spin of Mohammad Rafique (3/35) and Abdur Razzak (3/38) made life further difficult for the Indian batsmen as they were bowled out for 191 with only Sourav Ganguly (66) and Yuvraj Singh (47) managing to get some runs under their belt.

There was still hope as the Indian bowlers made a good start. But feisty half-centuries from Bangladesh’s new crop of batsmen led to the biggest upset of the tournament. Tamim Iqbal (51), Mushfiqur Rahim (56*) and Shakib Al Hasan (53) ensured India were relegated to a loss at cricket’s biggest stage. India were eventually knocked out of the tournament in the group phase itself.

3) India vs Bangladesh - February 19, 2011 - Sehwag stars in India’s revenge victory

India met Bangladesh once again in the ICC World Cup in 2011 and this was the tournament opener in Dhaka. India’s loss to the neighbours in the last edition meant this match was billed as a revenge clash between the two co-hosts. India just blew any hopes of an encore for the Bangladeshi fans as Virender Sehwag launched a savage attack on the bowlers. The opener slammed 14 boundaries and 5 massive sixes during his 140-ball stay in the middle and amassed 175 runs.

He was ably supported by the young Virat Kohli, who remained unbeaten on 100 off 83 balls in his first World Cup match. India posted 370/4 and Bangladesh never had a realistic chance of chasing the target down. The top order batted well but Bangladesh managed to score 283/9 in their 50 overs and lost the match by 87 runs.

4) India vs Bangladesh - June 17, 2014 - Taskin, Binny star in low scoring contest

This match is remembered for two classic bowling spells which ensured that a low scoring match turned out to be a spectacle. Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed was making his debut for Bangladesh and he made the ball talk on a spicy pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur. Taskin ripped the heart out of India’s top order and finished with figures of 5/28 as India were bowled out for a paltry 105.

The chase seemed like a formality for the Bangladesh batsmen but Mohit Sharma gave India a great start by sending back the openers early. Stuart Binny’s military medium turned out to be too difficult to handle for the Bangladeshis who fell like a pack of cards. Binny picked up 6 wickets while Mohit took 4 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 58. Binny’s figures of 6/4 are the best for an Indian in ODI cricket

5) India vs Bangladesh - March 19, 2015 - Rohit survives ‘no ball’ controversy to lead India to victory

Defending champions India qualified for the knock-out stage of the 2015 ICC World Cup by winning all their matches. They faced Bangladesh in the semi-final at the MCG and Dhoni’s men batted first. India started strong but a couple of dismissals brought Bangladesh back in the contest.

The trouble could have increased as opener Rohit Sharma was caught in the deep as he tried to hit a full toss delivery out of the park. The on-field umpires though ruled it as a no ball (for it being above the waist level) despite a lot of protest by the Bangladeshi players. Rohit Sharma went on to score a century and helped India post 302 on the board.

Paceman Umesh Yadav picked up 4 wickets as the Bangladeshis wilted under pressure and were bowled out for 193. But despite the 109-run loss the overwhelming feeling among Bangladesh cricketers and fans till date is that they were robbed off a place in the semi-final of the World Cup.

First Published: Sep 28, 2018 14:08 IST