Rohit Sharma’s valiant unbeaten knock (51* off 28) went in vain, as team India bowed down before Bangladesh in what was a cracker of a second ODI by 5 runs, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.
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With tonight’s win, Bangladesh have registered back-to-back ODI series wins against India, with the previous one coming in the year 2015.
As for Rohit, the 35-year-old was forced to arrive at the crease after suffering an injury quite early during the Bangladeshi innings, with the series loss looking nearly inevitable.
Coming in to bat at no.9 in the batting order and during the 43rd Over of the chase, Rohit struggled to get going during the early part of his innings, but took the Bangladeshi bowlers to the cleaners from the 46th Over onwards, with the required run-rate skyrocketing.
Despite Mohammad Siraj (2 off 12) playing out a maiden in the 48th Over, Rohit had the Bangladeshi crowd biting their nails despite 40 runs required off the final 12 deliveries.
The 35-year-old then smashed 3 Sixes and two Fours during the next two Overs, to bring the equation down to 6 runs needed off the final ball of the innings.
However, Mustafizur Rahman held his nerve to prevent India from drawing level the series.
Suryakumar Yadav hails Rohit Sharma for his gutsy knock
The no.1 T20I batter in the world at present, India’s Suryakumar Yadav took to his social media handle to salute his skipper for arriving at the crease and playing a scintillating knock, despite a heavily injured left-hand thumb.
Massive Respect bro @ImRo45 #BANvsIND
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) December 7, 2022
For those unaware, Yadav has been rested for the ongoing tour of Bangladesh to manage his workload, having consistently played for India in the past few months.
As far as Rohit’s injury is concerned, he himself exclaimed that his thumb had to undergo some stitches, during the post-match interaction.
“It (thumb injury) isn’t too great. Some dislocation and some stitches. Fortunately, not a fracture and so, I was able to bat,” remarked Rohit.
However, head coach Rahul Dravid later confirmed that he will miss the third ODI as he will be flying back to Mumbai to consult an expert.