NERVES OF STEEL

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur [December 2022].

In December 2022, Indian Cricket Team toured Bangladesh to play 3 ODIs and 2 Tests. The Hosts won the ODI series 2-1, whereas the visitors were leading the test series 1-0 after the end of first test. The second test was thus a do or die test for the hosts. On a spinner friendly wicket, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. 

The Indian bowlers weaved such a web around the hosts that except Mominul Haque no other Bangladeshi batsman was able to get past even 50 runs mark. Mominul scored an impressive 84 from 157 deliveries as the Bangladeshis were bowled out for 227 runs in their first innings. For India, Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Aswin were the leading wicket takers as both of then picked up 4 wickets each. 

In response Indians were bowled out for 314 runs in their first innings. Rishabh Pant scored an explosive 93 of 104 deliveries, whereas Shreyas Iyer managed to score a brilliant 87 of 105 balls. Apart from these two guys every other Indian batsman struggled to score runs. For the hosts, Captain Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam picked up 4 wickets each. 

The Bangladeshis were 87 runs behind the Indian total. This lead could be considered as a very big lead when we see the nature of the pitch. Riding upon Litton Das's 73 and Zakir Hasan's 51, the Hosts posted a fighting total of 231 in their second innings.  The Indians needed 145 runs to win the match and the series whereas the Bangladeshis needed 10 wickets to level the series 1-1.

The chase was never going to be easy as the pitch was turning like anything. The Bangladeshis reduced Indians to 74/7 and this is when Ashwin came into bat. The visitors were still 71 runs behind the target and the hosts needed just 3 wickets to wrap up the game. 

However, both Iyer and Ashwin kept their nerves and did not let pressure of the chase take over them. The duo batted slowly and sensibly and took the Indians closer to the target. Eventually in the 47th over Ashwin hit a six and a couple of boundaries to take India home. The visitors chased the total with 3 wickets remaining and won the series 2-0. 

For his all-round performance, Ashwin was awarded the man of the match award. 

To watch the highlights of final day, Click Here.