Bangladesh’s last wicket pair of Mehidy Hasan Miraj and Mustafizur Rahaman pulled off an incredible heist with a thrilling 51-run stand as India lost by one wicket in the first One Day International at Mirpur on Sunday.

Bangladesh vs India, first ODI: Mehidy Hasan Miraz pulls off thrilling chase to give hosts lead 1-0

KL Rahul stood out for India with his 70-ball 73, but the rest of the tourists’ batting line-up disappointed. While India put on an underpar batting performance, being all out for 186 in 41.2 overs, the Indian bowlers put on a much better show, reducing Bangladesh to 136 for 9 in the 40th over.

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Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said at the post-match presentation, “The pitch was a bit challenging, the odd ball was turning. You have to understand how to play. There are no excuses, we are used to such types of conditions.”

He added: “We need to look at how to bat against their spinners in these conditions. The genes are there, these guys grew up playing in such conditions. It is all about handling pressure.”

While Bangladesh’s the last wicket pair pulled off a heist after being 136 for 9 in the 40th over, Rohit didn’t run away from the core problem, which was the inept batting.

“It wasn’t enough runs. Another 30-40 runs would have made a difference. With KL and Washy (Washington Sundar), we could have got there. Unfortunately, we lost wickets in the middle, and it is not easy to make a come back,” he continued.

Watch: Bangladesh vs India first ODI highlights – Mehidy Hasan Miraz helps hosts win a thriller

After a few successful partnerships, including a 48-run stand between Litton Das and Shakib al Hasan, Bangladesh crumbled. Sundar dismissed Das for 41 runs before Shakib was caught by Virat Kohli with one hand at extra cover.

After a 33-run stand for the fifth wicket, Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim both fell, dealing a severe blow to Bangladesh. At 128/4 in the 35th over, Bangladesh appeared to be coasting, but they lost their composure as Mahmudullah was out leg before wicket to Shardul Thakur, and then Mushfiqur was bowled by Mohammed Siraj.

Afif Hossain and Ebadot Hossain were returned after debutant Kuldeep Sen took two wickets in the first over of his second spell. Hasan Mahmud was caught by Siraj for his third wicket. Siraj got Hasan Mahmud for his third wicket, but Mehidy, who also had one off-spin wicket, pulled off the unbelievable with Mustafizur by his side.

Talking about the bowling as a positive, Rohit said, “It was a very close game. We did very well to come back into the game. We did not bat well. We bowled pretty well and kept them under pressure till the end. They held their nerves at the back-end.

“If you look back at how we bowled, of course the last few overs where we would have liked to get a wicket, we kept taking wickets all through.”

The second ODI takes place on Wednesday, also in Mirpur.

“I am sure these guys will learn and we look forward to the next game. Hopefully we can change things around. We know exactly what we need to do in these conditions,” he added.

Quotes courtesy: PTI