It has been time and again told that Bangladesh batsmen hardly produce a total for their bowlers to defend but the batters did their job by putting on 250-7 in the 47-over-a-side match. But their efforts were not enough to script another glorious victory.

Habibul Bashar is perhaps the one to blame because of the way the Bangladesh captain handled the match that could have gone the home side's way in front of an electric crowd. The question was not why Bangladesh lost yet another match, but how.

If reckless batting was his first fault -- however made up for by his soldiers Tamim Iqbal (45), Javed Omar (80) and Shakib Al Hasan (50) -- then his reactive captaincy seemed simply pathetic for everybody who watched the game.

The 34-yeard old skipper was waiting for something to happen rather than trying to make it happen and help his side when the game was in his hands with India wobbling at 144-5 after 28.1 overs in reply to a challenging total on a pitch where batting was not easy against the slow bowlers.

Dashing Mahendra Dhoni (91), hamstrung and limping on one good leg, and Dinesh Karthik (58) kept cool in the middle under difficult circumstances during an unbeaten 107-run sixth wicket stand to take the match away from the home side. But they should have given some credit to Bashar for allowing them to pick up the singles easily and release the pressure on way to win the match with one over in hand.

The Bangladesh captain, who many believe has hardly any reason of continuing his one-day career, was completely exposed as a defensive captain when the situation demanded improvisation from him to make up for the absence of pace spearhead Mashrafe.

Putting only four fielders inside the ring instead of piling on the pressure ended in comforting the match winning pair who banked on Bashar's lack of killer instinct.

So, understandably he was the man in the receiving end at the post-match briefing but the pale-faced Bangladesh skipper was not ready to take any blame rather he thought that Dhoni made all the difference by playing a fantastic knock.

"No, we were not defensive. It is very difficult for many team to stop Dhoni that's why we thought that it would be better not to allow him big shots," he answered surprising the audience.

"Our main target was to pick up wickets but unfortunately our spinners were not as successful as in the previous few matches. But I don't want to blame them. You should understand that India batted well to win the match," he said.

The question was also raised, interestingly by an Indian journalist, about why his side's body language was negative when the match was in their control.

"From outside it might have looked different but inside we didn't feel something like that," he replied.

Bashar, however, admitted that his fielders missed some vital run out chances.

"Definitely I felt the absence of Mashrafe but someday you should play without your strike bowler. Yes, we put up a very good total on the board to create a chance but ultimately everything did not go in our favour," he said.

On the other hand 'under pressure', 'difficult situation', 'tough condition' were the words used by Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, who for the first time wore a smiling face in front of the press since their arrival on May 7, cricket manager Ravi Shastri and man-of-the-match Dhoni.

Dravid heaped all the praises on Dhoni and Karthik for the hard-fought victory after their disappointing five-wicket defeat to their World Cup nemesis.

"Really it was a special partnership under such a difficult and pressure situation. They controlled the innings and kept the run rate at move by rotating the strike and I must say it was exceptional batting we saw today," Dravid said.

"We were in a tough condition and it was not easy to field first and then bat against three quality spinners. So I must say it's a good win and mind it, a win is always a win. Many sides might have lost under this condition," he added.

He also explained the reason behind promoting Dhoni to number three. "Because he has the ability to change gear in different conditions," he responded.

While the Tigers captain hoped that they will fight back in the next two games by correcting their mistakes, Shastri warned that the hosts will have to play better.

"I am proud of my boys because they won a match under a difficult situation. Bangladesh will have to play better than this if they want to bounce back," said the former India all-rounder.