(Cricket news) India started day 2 at 19/0, trailing by 208 runs. KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli all got off to decent starts but couldn’t capitalize. India were struggling on 91/4 as the top order once again collapsed. All 4 batters got set but then threw their wicket away and that too at important intervals. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer needed to rescue their side and that is exactly what they did. The pitch was always going to be a tough one but the pair started counter attacking to put the bowlers under pressure.
Rishabh Pant missed out on a much deserved century as he was dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan on 93. It was a classic Pant innings filled with some trademark strokes and also a trademark dismissal in the 90s. The keeper now has 6 nineties which is more than 5 centuries which is a concern for him. Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer followed Pant to the dressing room shortly. Iyer continued his brilliant form across formats with a 105 ball 87. He was tested with the short ball by Taskin Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed but he countered it really well. He was also dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan who seems to have recovered from injury.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Jaydev Unadkat steadied things down for a while but Shakib got rid of Ashwin with the 2nd new ball. India soon were bowled out for 314 with a lead of 87 runs. Taijul Islam continued his incredible form by picking up 4 wickets while Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan chipped in with a scalp. Shakib Al Hasan who didn’t bowl much in the last match looked to have retained his fitness. The Bangladesh captain picked up 4 crucial wickets as he led from the front. Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto survived the 6 remaining overs to stay unscathed.
Also read: Is the Indian team wasting Kuldeep Yadav’s talent?
