Read it in Hindi.

Read it in Marathi.

20 runs were needed off the final over. Mustafizur is the bowler. An injured Rohit Sharma, who has walked in at number nine and is on a 22-ball 37, fighting alone at the death, is on strike. The first ball is a dot. Then come two fours. The fourth ball is once again a dot.

12 runs | 2 balls. And Rohit smashes a six. 6 runs | 1 ball. Alas, it’s a yorker. The Fizz has the last laugh. The Hitman’s magnificent cameo falls tantalizingly short. 

Alas, the series is lost

Bangladesh won the 2nd ODI against India at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium by five runs. Once again, the match went down the wire and the Tigers held their nerve to seal the three match ODI series 2-0. 

Litton Das won the toss earlier and chose to bat first. Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s unbeaten 100 off 83 balls, backed by Mahmudullah’s 77 off 96 balls, helped them get to 271/7 despite being 69/6 at one stage.

Shreyas Iyer battled hard alongside Axar Patel to keep India in the match after early wickets. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who came out at No. 9, batted with a thumb injury and heroically took the side close to the winning mark. 

Bowlers topple hosts’ batting line-up

Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik nullified any possible attacks from the Bangladesh top order. Their searing pace and swing were too much to handle as the side were reduced to 52/3 in no time.

Washington Sundar joined the party to dismantle the middle order. After deceiving Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim with his pace, he cleaned up Afif Hossain with a wrong-un. At 69/6, the visiting side looked in total control.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, once again!

After a record 10th wicket partnership in the first ODI, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was Bangladesh’s MVP once again. He partnered with Mahmudullah to put up a staggering 148 runs for the seventh wicket. Hasan registered his first ODI century and Mahmudullah made 77 runs in 96 balls, steering Bangladesh past the 250-mark.

Nasum Ahmed chipped in with a few lusty blows at the end as the Tigers finished with 271/7 in 50 overs.

Three wickets down in the powerplay

After the innings break, Virat Kohli walked out to open as skipper Rohit Sharma had picked up an injury in the first innings. However, his stay was cut short by Ebadot Hossain while Mustafizur Rahman sent back Shikhar Dhawan in a freak dismissal.

Iyer keeps the titanic afloat

After 20 overs, India were 80/4 with Axar Patel (56 off 56 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (82 off 102 balls) in the middle. The ship seemed to be sinking, but Shreyas Iyer kept them afloat in this herculean run chase. The duo mixed caution and aggression brilliantly to drive India closer to the target.

They added 107 runs for the fifth wicket before Iyer was caught at deep mid-wicket. Axar Patel fell soon and Bangladesh got themselves firmly into the driving seat.

“Oh Captain, My Captain!”

Rohit Sharma, despite picking up a thumb injury, returned to bat at No. 9 (Talk about leading by example!).

With 40 runs to win in the last two overs, Rohit smashed 20 runs in the 49th over off Mahmudullah. He followed it up with two fours and a six off Mustafizur Rahman in the final over. The skipper remained unbeaten on 51 off 28 balls in an awe-inspiring fightback, but India fell short by five runs.

Record alert: Rohit Sharma became the second batter in international cricket to hit 500 sixes! (claps, claps, claps)

Brief scores: Bangladesh 271/7 in 50 overs (Mehidy Hasan Miraz 100*, Mahmudullah 77, Washington Sundar 3/37) beat India 266/9 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 82, Axar Patel 56, Ebadot Hossain 3/45) by five runs.