Bangladesh vs India, 2nd Test, Day 1, Top Performances: Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav’s 4-fer and Mominul Haque’s 84 are top performances. India 19-0 at the stumps on Day 1; Bangladesh bowl out for 227.
Brief Scores: India 19/0 trail Bangladesh 227 (Mominul 84, Umesh 4/25, Ashwin 4/71) by 208 runs at Stumps on Day 1
After a comprehensive victory over Bangladesh by 188 runs in the first Test held in Chattogram, a confident-looking India locked horns with the hosts to pocket another series in the second Test match of the two-match Test series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
Jaydev Unadkat replaces Kuldeep as Mominul returns for Bangladesh
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan on winning the toss opted to bat first on a track that had a tinge of grass which held promise for pacers and spinners, before the batters could enjoy their time in the middle.
India made a solitary change by dropping the player of the match from the last Test, Kuldeep Yadav as Jaydev Unadkat made a Test appearance after a gap of 12 years during which time India played 118 Tests, which is now the largest gap in terms of number of Tests for an India player. Unadkat went past Dinesh Karthik who missed 87 Tests between two appearances. Bangladesh on the other hand welcomed fit Taskin Ahmed and veteran Mominul Haque in place of Yasir Ali and injured Ebadot Hossain.
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Consistent India bowl out Bangladesh for just 227; visitors end on 19/0
Deciding to bat first, Bangladesh had a decent opening partnership of 39 runs before losing two wickets back-to-back. Even though the hosts put up a few partnerships, India were successful in breaking the stands at the right moments in the game. All the home batters were getting starts but couldn’t convert them into big scores apart from Mominul Haque, as Bangladesh found themselves at 172/5.
After another 41-run stand between Mominul Haque and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, India came back hard to take the last five wickets for just 14 runs as Bangladesh were bundled out for just 227.
Under fading light, India had a nervy half an hour of batting where captain KL Rahul got a life on 3* with the aid of a review, even as Shubman Gill with 14* took India to 19/0 before the umpires called an early stumps.
Let’s scan the top three performances from the first day of the second Test between Bangladesh and India at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
Mominul cracks a crucial 84 on his Test comeback
Former Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque missed a few Test matches in the last few months due to poor form. He also wasn’t part of the first Test match in the two-match series but on his return, he looked totally different from the other batters in the Bangladesh side.
Coming in the 15th over of the game, Mominul looked to be under a bit of pressure, before he luckily got his first boundary thanks to an overthrow from the cover fielder. The first boundary came off his bat, when Mominul flicked Jaydev Unadkat through backward square leg before playing a crisp straight drive against Ravichandran Ashwin through the point region. He clipped Axar Patel in front of square before guiding Umesh Yadav in the third man region for another boundary.
Mominul took on Jaydev Unadkat in the 39th over when he flicked him through the mid-wicket region before repeating the feat on the very next delivery. With a fierce boundary that was cut over backward point, Mominul Haque celebrated his 16th Test fifty.
The Bangladesh number three batter kept on going hard, as he stepped out to loft Ashwin with the turn over the mid-off region for a boundary, before launching the off-spinner over wide long-on for his first maximum. With wickets falling from the other hand, Mominul went into his shell.
Finally, being unsure of whether to go for the drive or leave the ball, Mominul Haque got an edge, as he was dismissed on 84 with the help of 12 boundaries and one six. Mominul Haque now has 3613 Test runs in 55 games at an average of 38.03. His 84 is now the highest score by a Bangladesh batter at number three against India in Tests.
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Expressive Umesh Yadav punctures Bangladesh with 4/25
In the absence of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav who has been playing red ball cricket for a long time was required to step up and he didn’t disappoint.
The expressive fast bowler from Vidarbha bowled a really good spell in the first session, but didn’t reap any rewards for his effort. On the first ball of the second session, Umesh sent back opponent captain Shakib Al Hasan on 16 who in trying to take the aerial route chipped it straight into the hands of the mid-off fielder.
When he came back for another spell, Umesh straightaway dismissed Mehidy Hasan Miraz on 15, who lazily wafted his bat to cut the short ball without any feet movement as Rishabh Pant took an easy catch behind the stumps. In the next over, Umesh dismissed Nurul Hasan (6) who was late in bringing his bat down as the ball went past the inside edge and rapped him on the front pad.
Umesh then caged Taskin Ahmed (1) who going for a drive saw the leading edge ending in the hands of the point fielder as Umesh Yadav finished with 4/25 in his 15 overs. He now has 164 wickets in 54 Tests.
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Ravichandran Ashwin makes much-needed impact with 4/71
There was some pressure on the shoulders of Ravichandran Ashwin who picked up just one wicket in the first Test and with the player of the match from the last Test, Kuldeep Yadav, getting dropped, the senior off-spinner was required to stand up. And Ashwin did exactly the same.
Ashwin with the second ball of his third over earned the wicket of Najmul Hossain Shanto on 24 who didn’t offer a shot as the ball hit him on the pad with the umpire raising his finger.
Coming back for his 12th over of the day, Ashwin sent back Litton Das on 25 who went a bit too aggressive as he used his feet to lazily flick the ball straight into the hands of the mid-wicket fielder.
Ashwin was bowling well against Mominul Haque and finally succeeded in getting his wicket on 84 who decided to leave the carrom ball as Pant took an easy catch behind the wicket. Two balls later, Khaled Ahmed swung his willow aimlessly as Jaydev Unadkat grabbed his catch at deep mid-wicket.
Ravichandran Ashwin who finished with figures of 4/71 in his 21.5 overs, now has 447 Test wickets in 88 games.
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What to Expect on Day 2
Bangladesh will now expect to take a few early wickets with the pitch still being really helpful; whereas, on the other hand, India should be aware of the difficulty of batting fourth on this pitch which means they have to bat longer and post a huge score on the board in their first innings.
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