DHAKA: Bangladesh bowlers struck early in the innings to dismiss India’s top order, leaving the visitors reeling at 45/4 and needing 100 more runs to win at the time of stumps on Day 3 of the ongoing second Test here at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here on Saturday.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz scalped three wickets as India finished the day at 45/4, still, 100 runs away from a victory. After suffering dismissals of star batters like Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara within 20 overs of the game, Axar Patel handled struggling India’s charge and is unbeaten at 26 runs off 54 deliveries with the help of three fours.
Bangladesh resumed their innings from 195/7, but could not do much as Indian bowlers bundled out them for 231.
Chasing a target of 145, India got off to the worst start as they lost the opener and captain K L Rahul in the third over of the game. Bangladesh bowlers restricted Indian batters from scoring boundaries and taking singles, leaving the visitors in big trouble.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck again as he dismissed Pujara for 6 runs after removing India captain. At that moment, India were tottering at 12/2. Bangladesh bowlers kept India under pressure as they kept removing wickets from the crease.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who was in red-hot form, left India struggling for runs as he dismissed Virat Kohli in the 20th over of the game. Kohli went back to the pavilion after scoring just a single run off 22 deliveries, leaving India tottering at 37/4. Axar Patel however held the fort from the front as he kept gathering singles at regular intervals.
Earlier, India bowlers put up a brilliant performance against Bangladesh to cause trouble. However, Litton Das handled the charge fiercely as the hosts extended their lead to 108 runs on Day 3 of the ongoing second Test. Litton remained unbeaten on 58 while Taskin Ahmed scored 15, heading into stumps, while Bangladesh’s core read 195/7.
At lunch, Bangladesh were tottering at 71 for four after Indian bowlers struck again and again and destroyed the host’s top order, taking an upper hand in the match. Bangladesh resumed their innings at 71/4. Zakir Hasan and Litton Das handled the charge as they slammed Indian bowlers all around the ground while gathering singles at regular intervals.
In the 41st over of the game, Zakir Hasan brought up his half-century in 129 balls as he slammed a beautiful front foot straight drive past the bowler for three runs. However, Hasan’s half-century stint at the crease was cut short as he was dismissed by Umesh Yadav after scoring 51 runs off 135 deliveries.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz then came out to bat, but the latter could not do much as he was sent packing by Axar without opening his run tally. The right-handed batter Nurul Hasan then came out to bat. Litton played with aggression, slamming Indian bowlers for boundaries, while Hasan played a supporting role taking singles at regular intervals.
In the 54th over of the game, Nurul Hasan’s stint at the crease was cut short as Axar delivered a stunning delivery to dismiss the batter. Hasan was removed after playing a knock of 31 off 29 deliveries with two fours and one six, leaving Bangladesh tottering at 159/7.
New batter Taskin Ahmed then came out to join hands with Litton. Well set dangerous batter Litton brought up his fierce 50 in 74 balls as Virat Kohli put down another catch at first slip. Litton slammed Ravichandran Ashwin for 10 runs with the help of one stunning four and singles at regular intervals.
Earlier, Indian bowlers’ disciplined performance in the first session against Bangladesh jostled the hosts as they lost four batters for 71 runs on the third day. Jaydev Unadkat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel took a wicket each to dismantle the hosts in the first session of the third day of the second test. Zakir Hasan (37*) and Litton Das took the hosts to 71/4 at lunch.
Resuming the inning at 7/0, Bangladesh lost their first wicket in the second over of the day to Ashwin, as he found Shanto (5) plumb in front of the wicket after surviving a close call on the previous delivery. Siraj and Ashwin bowled in tandem and looked threatening as they made the opposition batters play defensively. Mominul Haque struck Siraj for a boundary, but the pacer had the last laugh as he dismissed the first inning’s top-scorer for 5 runs.
The batters were made to sweat for runs as the Indian bowlers bowled in the right areas and kept a lid on the scoring rate. Unadkat paired up with Umesh Yadav to make the Bangladesh batting lineup look fragile. The Saurashtra bowler got rid of Shakib Al Hasan in his first over of the day, reducing Bangladesh to 51/3.
Shakib tried to be positive and play his shots, but the left-arm pacer outdid the skipper, making him chip the ball in covers for a soft dismissal. Experienced batter Mushfiqur Rahim looked solid and it seemed Bangladesh would go into lunch with three wickets down, but Axar Patel found him right in front of the wicket to dismiss the right-hander for 9 runs.
Zakir Hasan, who made his debut for Bangladesh in the first Test, was the only batter who showed resilience against a disciplined Indian bowling attack. He anchored one end and made sure that the hosts did not suffer a collapse. Litton Das and Zakir remained unbeaten for the hosts as the umpires called lunch on the third day of the second test.
Earlier, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer’s knock guided India to 314 all out giving them an 87-run lead in the first innings of the second test.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 227/10 and 195/7 (Litton Das 73, Zakir Hasan 51; Axar Patel 3-68) vs India 314/10 and 45/4 (Rishabh Pant 93, Shreyas Iyer 87; Taijul Islam 4-74) (Axar Patel 26*, Shubman Gill 7; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3-12). (ANI)