India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his team was "hurt" by the morale-shattering 79-run loss to Bangladesh but credited rivals pacers for extracting good bounce and variations on a slow wicket during the first one-day international here.
Bangladesh produced some fantastic batting to score their highest total against India in ODIs — 307 all out in 49.4 overs — and then bundled them out for 228 with four overs to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.Asked if the loss dent the morale of the much-fancied Indian side, Dhoni said: "It does hurt. But it's not about what you have done in the past.
On that particular day, how well you have played predicts the team that wins and today they played much better cricket than we did."Addressing the post-match press conference last night, Dhoni said: "I think the variations that they used were pretty impressive. They didn't bowl 140 kph and a slower one of 115 kph. They mixed up the pace well and also they had more bowlers who got more bounce compared to our fast bowlers.
"Bounce, at times on slow wicket, is a harder thing to negotiate because it climbs onto you and still you don't have enough pace to work around."I felt they used the variations well. And still they knew what was the exact length that was needed to bowl and I felt that was the difference between the fast bowling units," he added.Rohit Sharma (63) and Shikhar Dhawan (30) shared 95 runs for the opening partnership to give India a good start but they suffered a mini-collapse, losing four wickets for 20 runs, and could not recover there after."Whenever you are chasing 300, the key is partnerships. The bigger the partnerships, the easier it becomes for the middle order, the lower-order batsmen to score the remaining number of runs," Dhoni said.
Bangladesh picked four fast bowlers, including debutant Mustafizur Rahman — who returned with a five-wicket haul — in their playing XI.Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza said his decision to include Mustafizur in the team was a bold one and he is happy that the move paid off."We've been playing with three pacers since I became captain. Because I believe it is the bowlers who win matches. (Arafat) Sunny had been bowling very well. It was difficult to leave him out. But we thought it is important to play Mustafiz. It was difficult to ignore him after seeing him bowling in the nets and use his variations," he said."Our bowlers weren't puzzled when they got off to such a start. Everyone was prepared to fight till the last ball. Partnerships can happen but the boys gave a big effort."
Their 79-run win was a sweet revenge for Bangladesh who had lost to India by 109 runs at the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Melbourne. However Mortaza said: "I think revenge shouldn't exist in sports. We are all humans with families. We all play cricket. The question of revenge can't be considered here."What I think is we definitely fight for victory on the field. But that is all I want. Many things may happen during a match but we go to the same hotel together after a match and hang out there."‘We are still a better team than Bangladesh’Batsman Suresh Raina on Friday insisted that India are still a "better side" than Bangladesh while vowing to make a strong comeback in the three-match ODI series after the visitors suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the home team.
A spirited Bangladesh last night pulled off an upset 79-run victory in the first cricket one-dayer against India to take a 1-0 lead in the series."This loss is a bit shocking for us and it's hurting a lot. Yes, they played better than us but we are still a better team. Their cricket is improving day by day but we are on a different level," Raina was quoted as saying by bcci.Tv.Considering India's strong batting line-up, Raina felt the target was achievable. But, the Indians, after making a steady start, lost wickets regularly to be bundled out for 228 with four overs to spare.
"We should have chased it, especially given the strength of our batting line-up. But their debutant left-arm pacer bowled really well and the two breakthroughs that Taskin (Ahmed) gave them in the form of Shikhar (Dhawan) and Virat (Kohli) was game-changing. "After that we never really managed a good partnership besides the one between Ravindra Jadeja and me. That hurt us," he said.