CHATTOGRAM (Bangladesh): Useful knocks from Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav down the order and fiery spells from pacer Mohammed Siraj and spinner Kuldeep Yadav put India in the driver’s seat at the end of Day 2 of the first Test against Bangladesh at Chattogram on Thursday, with the scoreboard reading 133/8 for the hosts in their first innings.
At the end of the day’s play, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (16*) and Ebadot Hossain (13*) were unbeaten for Bangladesh. India are in a commanding position with a 271-run lead in the match.
After tea, Bangladesh resumed play at 37/2 with Zakir Hasan (9*) and Litton Das (24*). In the first 10 overs of the first session, Siraj struck, taking his wicket tally to three by dismissing Litton for 24 and Hasan for 20. Bangladesh were reduced to 56/4.
Following this, spinner Kuldeep Yadav started weaving a spin web the Bangla Tigers could not get out of. He did not let Bangladesh develop a long partnership, dismissing skipper Shakib Al Hasan (3), Nurul Hasan (16), Mushfiqur Rahim (28), Taijul Islam (0) with Bangladesh reduced to 102/8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Ebadot Hossain made sure that the hosts did not lose any more wickets for the remainder of Day 2.
Indian pacers struck in tandem to give Bangladesh early setbacks. Bangladesh were jolted on the first ball of their inning as Mohammed Siraj drew first blood to dismiss Najmul Hossain Shanto. The pacer bowled a ripper to get an edge which a diving Rishab Pant pouched behind the stumps.
The hosts had hardly recovered from the first wicket when Umesh Yadav sent the stumps cartwheeling. He removed Yasir Ali (4) who looked to play away from his body only to drag the ball on to the stumps. Bangladesh were reduced to 5/2 inside the fourth over.
Litton Das looked fluent in his brief stay before tea, as he played some eye-pleasing strokes and guided Bangladesh to 37/2 at the end of the second session on day two. Litton Das played two stunning shots to Umesh Yadav that found the fence as the hosts looked to rebuild and recover from the early setback.
Debutant Zakir Hasan too struck Ashwin for two boundaries in the next over, accumulating much-needed runs. Umesh leaked runs again as Litton struck three boundaries in one over of the pacer before the Bangladeshi pair took the team to 37/2 at tea.
Resuming the second session, Ashwin got to his 13th Test match 50 and added 92 runs for the eighth wicket before India were bowled out for 404 in their first innings. Chestehwar Pujara (90) top-scored for the team. The lower order chipped in with commendable knocks, coming from the bats of Ravichandran Ashwin (58) and Kuldeep Yadav (40).
A resilient partnership of 55 runs for the eighth wicket from Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav took India to 348/7 at lunch. India were bowled out for 404. India had lost the wicket of Shreyas Iyer in the first session, who scored 86. India resumed their inning at 278/6 on day two of the first test with Shreyas Iyer at 82 and Ashwin still to open his account.
Brief Score: Bangladesh: 133/8 (Mushfiqur Rahim 28, Litton Das 24, Kuldeep Yadav 4/33) vs India 404 (Cheteshwar Pujara 90, Shreyas Iyer 86; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 4-112) (ANI)