Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim, right, celebrates after wining first T20 cricket match against India at the Arun Jaitley stadium, in New Delhi
The scenes were only a tad different. India batted first. Amassed a competitive 140-plus total. Bangladesh struggled initially before middle-order showed some resilience leaving finishing responsibilities on the experienced shoulders of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah. But back in 2016, in the World T20 clash in Bangalore, the duo had succumbed in the dying moments of the game. After back-to-back fours against Hardik Pandya in the final over, Bangladesh had reduced the equation to two off three. But a hat-trick of dismissals left Bangladesh one run away from victory. Three years later, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah had found themselves in a similar space. And once again, Mushfiqur's aggressive innings at the penultimate over left Bangladesh in the driver's seat with four required off the final six. But on Sunday, Bangladesh made no error. Mahmudullah smoked the third delivery from debutant Shivam Dube over wide long-on to help the visitors script an impressive seven-wicket win and subsequently take a 1-0 lead in the series where they have been termed as the 'depleted' side.
It was Bangladesh's maiden T20I win against India in nine attempts and hence the big question for the Man of the Match Mushfiqur was whether he had finally exorcised the ghosts of World T20 2016.
"Not really," he said at the post-match presentation. "When you are playing in front of a huge crowd, and when the team needs it the most, then nothing more feels special (than helping the team cross the line). I feel really good. It's a great honour to play India in India."
But for Mushfiqur, his battle was not just against the slow and turning Kotla track, but also against the entire fiasco that has left Bangladesh cricket in a turmoil. He himself described as "the toughest two weeks of my 15-year career".
Player's strike and Shakib Al Hasan's international ban were the two talking points ahead of the T20I series. And with Tamim Iqbal too opting out of the series in a bid to be home with his pregnant wife, Bangladesh were considered frail with their morale shaken to its core. The odds were against Bangladesh and for India, it was considered just another series to be wrapped up early. However, on Sunday, Bangladesh overcame every barrier possible to take a 1-0 lead in the contest. And Mushfiqur, who was part of the player's strike two weeks back, was the architect of India's misery with his unbeaten 60.
On a slow track with turn on offer and the spinners, especially Yuzvendra Chahal, dictating the terms, Mushfiqur and Soumya Sarkar struggled to cope up with the required run rate in the middle overs. However, their partnership of 50 runs stretched over nine overs did keep Bangladesh in the contest. Their only strategy was to see off Chahal and wait for Rohit Sharma to bring back the seamers.
"Only the batsmen in the middle know what's going on in the pitch," Mushfiqur said. "Not anyone in the dugout, not the next batsman. I told Soumya if one of us bats till the 19th over, we can still chase 25 because they will bowl seamers."
But the death overs witnessed an irony in the contest. Amid the entire wait, it was Khaleel Ahmed who dismissed Sarkar. That must have given the left-arm pacer some confidence and the stand-in skipper a hope that the Khaleel can scalp another in the death. Unlikely, Rohit saved Chahal for the 18th over and Rahim and Mahamudullah struck a boundary each with the former escaping a blunder a deep-midwicket boundary by Krunal Pandya. Hence, with 22 off the final 12 and with Khaleel starting the penultimate over, the stage was set for Bangladesh and Mushfiqur.
First, a pull over deep mid-wicket, followed by a scoop towards fine-leg boundary, a slice down to the deep backward point fence and finally leading-edge bisecting backward point and short third man for a four. Mushfiqur had single-handedly reduced the equation to four off six with 18 runs off the 19th over. Three deliveries into the final over and Bangladesh were celebrating their maiden win the format against India. But more so, it was their sigh of relief having countered the enormous tornado.
"The last two-three weeks has been the toughest situation that I have faced in my 15-year cricketing career," Mushfiqur said at the post-match press conference. "I said to the journalists before leaving Bangladesh that the only way to return to the right track would be with a couple of wins in India. It will bring back smiles and calmness to the team and the nation.
"We came here as underdogs. I thank our head coach because of the situation we have faced in the last three weeks. To come back from that, especially giving the youngsters the freedom and giving them confidence; whether you give 20 runs in an over or get out first ball, you are still a member of this team. We have been giving this message to the rest of the team. I want them to take eight or ten years to reach what I have reached in 15 years."
