- Shamser Khalid
Bangladesh Star Mehidy Hasan Miraz Receives Souvenir from Virat Kohli
The Test series between Bangladesh and India has ended with India winning 2-0. Bangladesh went close in the 2nd Test but lost by a narrow 3 wickets. After the match, Mehidy Hasan, who bagged a five-for in the second innings of the match received a souvenir from India star Virat Kohli.
The souvenir was a signed jersey and to commemorate the gift, the 25-year-old shared a photo of him and Kohli on Facebook. The photo showed the Bangladesh off-spinner and Kohli posing with the shirt and had the caption: “Special souvenir from one of the greatest cricketer Virat Kohli". The post was photographed and shared on Twitter by a fan and has since gained thousands of likes.
While Mehidy gave a brilliant all-around performance, he was not the only one. During the match on Saturday, he and Shakib Al Hasan reduced the visitors to 45-4 at stumps with 100 still to chase. When the Test match resumed on Sunday, Bangladesh reduced India to 74-7.
In the end, Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin put on 71 runs in an unbroken eighth wicket stand and led India to victory in the final match.
During an interview after the match, Shakib Al Hasan, "Everyone contributed. We always knew that we had chance in Mirpur. Very good Test cricket, that's what the crowds love to see. Both teams were really good. Credit goes to Shreyas and Ashwin; they absorbed the pressure well and built a partnership. We had 70-odd runs to play with, just needed one wicket. We can think of several ifs and buts, but I'm proud of the way we fought."
Mehidy is not the only one to post a photo with Virat Kohli on social media. When both teams were on a flight from Chattogram to Dhaka, Taskin Ahmed decided to take a photo. The photo, which showed the player seated next to Kohli, was posted on Instagram. It had the caption, "Looking forward to the second Test with Virat Kohli Legend," and since gained thousands of likes.
This latest victory against Bangladesh marks the 11th time that India has won against Bangladesh in a Test series. Since 2000, India had won 10 of the teams' previous 12 Test matches, and 2 have ended in draws. While Bangladesh overcame India in the preceding 50-over series, they have never beaten them in a Test.
The last time that Bangladesh won a Test was in 2021. It was against Zimbabwe, and they won by 220 runs. Bangladesh’s first Test series victory, on the other hand, was in 2005 against Zimbabwe. So far, the highest score that Bangladesh has ever gotten in a Test Series was 638 runs in their match against Sri Lanka at Galle in March 2013.
Following this Test Series is England's first bilateral tour of Bangladesh in six years. The tour is confirmed for March 2023 in Dhaka and Chattogram. It’s reported that the matches will start on March 1 and last two weeks.
