Bangladesh vs. India, 3rd ODI, 2015: Highlights, Scorecard and Report

India salvaged some pride in the third and final one-day international against Bangladesh, securing a 77-run win in Dhaka.

Knocks of 75 from Shikhar Dhawan and 69 from skipper MS Dhoni helped the tourists to a solid 317 for six from their 50 overs. In response, Bangladesh lost wickets at critical points in the match, finishing up all out for 240 after 47 overs.

The result means the series finishes 2-1 in favour of the hosts.

			Runs	Minutes	Balls	4s	6s
Ro Sharma	c Das	b Mustafizur Rahman	29	34	29	2	1
Dhawan	c Nasir Hossain	b Mortaza	75	118	73	10	0
Kohli		b Shakib	25	54	35	1	0
Dhoni	c Mustafizur Rahman	b Mortaza	69	112	77	6	1
Rayudu	c Das	b Mortaza	44	74	49	3	0
Raina		b Mustafizur Rahman	38	25	21	3	2
Binny	not out		17	23	11	2	0
A Patel	not out		10	3	5	0	1
Extras		0nb 3w 4b 3lb	10
Total		for 6 (50.0 ovs)	317
Bowler				Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Mustafizur Rahman				10.0	0	57	2
Mortaza				10.0	0	76	3
Arafat Sunny				6.0	0	42	0
Rubel Hossain				9.0	0	75	0
Nasir Hossain				6.0	0	27	0
Shakib				9.0	1	33	1

After playing with a real panache in the first two matches of this dramatic series, Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza was clearly in a confident mood at the toss. He inserted India into bat, with clear intentions to test what’s looked a fragile top order for the tourists so far.

But India’s illustrious players operated with a renewed composure in this game, even if plenty of players failed to capitalise on starts. Indeed, the first two wickets to fall were Rohit Sharma (29) and Virat Kohli (25), who each would have been disappointed to not push on.

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Opener Dhawan did, though. He made a classy 75 from 73 balls, and as noted here by cricket statistician Mohandas Menon, it’s been a prosperous year for the 29-year-old:

Ambati Rayudu and Dhoni took up the charge when Dhawan departed with the score on 158 for three. Neither man played with the aggressive intent they’re synonymous with, but a 93-run partnership, ended by the wicket of Rayudu for 44, set a brilliant platform for some late hitting from the India middle order.

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

The skipper tried to up the ante as he moved past 50, but on 69 from 77 balls, a leading edge off the bowling of Mortaza—who was dangerous but expensive, picking up three wickets for the loss of 76 runs—saw him depart.

As noted here by Cricket Record, so often the India captain has set the example for this team in international matches:

An entertaining late flourish from Suresh Raina of 38 from 21 balls helped India past 300, before cameos from Stuart Binny and Axar Patel saw the tourists post 317 for six. After winning the previous two matches in this series, it was a score the hosts would have been confident of chasing down.

			Runs	Minutes	Balls	4s	6s
Tamim Iqbal	lbw	b Kulkarni	5	9	8	1	0
Sarkar	c Ashwin	b Kulkarni	40	47	34	5	2
Das		b A Patel	34	82	50	3	0
Mushfiqur Rahim	c Dhoni	b Raina	24	35	30	0	1
Shakib	c Kulkarni	b Raina	20	23	21	2	0
Sabbir Rahman		b Binny	43	43	38	6	0
Nasir Hossain	c Rayudu	b Ashwin	32	57	30	3	0
Mortaza		b Ashwin	0	11	9	0	0
Arafat Sunny	not out		14	39	40	1	0
Rubel Hossain	c A Patel	b Raina	2	12	6	0	0
Mustafizur Rahman	lbw	b Rayudu	9	11	17	1	0
Extras		1nb 13w 0b 3lb	17
Total		all out (47.0 ovs)	240
Bowler				Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Binny				6.0	0	41	1
Kulkarni				8.0	0	34	2
U Yadav				4.0	0	33	0
Ashwin				10.0	1	35	2
A Patel				9.0	1	44	1
Raina				8.0	0	45	3
Rayudu				2.0	1	5	1

With the home crowd bristling at the prospect of a whitewash, things didn’t get off to a great start for Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal fell for just five in the second over, and although Soumya Sarkar gave it a good whack for his 40 from 34 balls, Bangladesh found themselves two wickets down inside the first 10 overs.

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

In pursuit of a sizeable target like this one, early wickets are far from ideal, as noted by former India player Aakash Chopra:

Bangladesh were never able to recover from those blows, with the following batsmen all seemingly hesitant about whether to steady the ship or counter-attack. Indeed, Litton Das (34), Mushfiqur Rahim (34) and Shakib Al Hasan (20) all began well but surrendered their wickets with soft pieces of play.

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Sabbir Rahman stoked some late hopes for the home side with an entertaining 43 from 38 balls, but once he departed, Bangladesh were 197 for six and staring down the barrel of their first defeat of the series. Some savvy bowling shut the match down and the hosts were eventually bowled out for 240 with three overs remaining.

Raina added figures of three for 45 to his impressive burst with the bat and was named Man of the Match. Afterward he paid tribute to a multifaceted India display, per ESPN Cricinfo:

"

We batted really well as a group. MS and Shikhar had a good partnership. MS took the responsibility. And then we and Stuart had a good partnership. Dhawal started off the bowling well, and me and Ash followed up on it. We played really well today, that's the positive we will take from here.

"

While the Bangladesh players fell short here, it was another day to savour for 19-year-old Mustafizur Rahman, named Man of the Series, as we can see here courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo:

It was a disappointing end to a brilliant trio of matches for Bangladesh; the strides they’ve made in this series—not to mention the confidence the team has accrued—will be invaluable moving forward. They’re a team beset on mixing it with the world’s very best cricketing nations, and if these displays against India are any kind of barometer, they’re not far off at all.

The tourists finished strongly, but it’s clear there’s plenty of work for them to do looking ahead. Next up for India is a trip to Zimbabwe, where they’ll be desperate to bounce back in another three-match ODI series and a pair of 20-over internationals.