(Cricket news) Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. Taskin Ahmed came in for the injured Ebadot Hossain while former Captain Mominul Haque replaced Yasir Ali. India took a massive call by dropping last Test’s player of the match Kuldeep Yadav. The conditions favoured 3 seamers as the pitch had a fair bit of grass on it. However, dropping a player who took 8 wickets and scored 40 runs in the last match was difficult and harsh.
India had the option of bringing in Shardul Thakur but instead went with Jaydev Unadkat. The left arm seamer played just 1 Test match way back in 2010 against South Africa where he didn’t take a single wicket. Axar Patel could’ve been the one to make way but India stuck with the left arm spinner presumably for his prowess with the willow among other things.
Bangladesh’s opening pair of Najmul Hossain Shanto and Zakir Hasan once again started off well. The pair held fort for almost 15 overs before Unadkat broke through. Haque on his return to the side scored 84 off 157 balls and was the only Bangladeshi batter who converted his start into a big score. The rest of the lot fell prey to India’s fantastic bowling line-up.
The hosts once again didn’t show great application and were often let down by their shot selection. Shakib Al Hasan in particular will be disappointed by his dismissal as he got out on the first ball after lunch trying to play an uppish drive off Umesh Yadav which went straight to mid off. Bangladesh were bowled out for just 227 runs which can be considered below par considering that they elected to bat first.
Ravichandran Ashwin picked up just one wicket in the last match but he came back in this innings by picking 4 wickets. Umesh Yadav extended his incredible record in Asia as he also got 4 scalps. Jaydev Unadkat on his long awaited return got the important wickets of Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. The pitch had a fair amount of lateral movement for the seamers and extra bounce as well. Unadkat also created footmarks which were pretty deep in the first innings itself. Ashwin benefited by the patches and it will only become more potent for the spinners as the game progresses. So far after day 1, the decision to bring in Unadkat is proving to be a master stroke.
Indian openers KL Rahul and Shubman Gill survived 8 overs and scored 19 runs. KL Rahul survived a close LBW off Shakib Al Hasan thanks to DRS. The day came to a premature end due to bad light as India were well on top. Bangladesh need the Indian batting to collapse tomorrow to stand a chance. The visitors on the other hand will be eyeing 500 which will put them in prime position to win even with an innings to spare.
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