India vs Bangladesh: Batters day out

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30 Sep 2024, 6:49 pm

KANPUR: Never in the 34.4 overs of their stint at the crease here at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Monday did India's scoring rate drop down below eight. The aggressive approach by Indian batters brought an otherwise dull game to life much to the delight of the fans.

When the match resumed in the morning, chances of a result in the game was almost nil but by the time the day's play ended, there seems to be a possibility of a positive result for the hosts thanks to their batters who scored runs at a breakneck pace.  

Such was the onslaught in the beginning that Rohit Sharma and Co completed 50 in just three overs giving a feel of T20 cricket. At times, it felt the openers — the India captain and Yashasvi Jaiswal — wanted to compensate the fans, who missed out on the action for two consecutive days due to rains and wet oufield. By the time they declared their innings at 285/9, a bagful of the records fell.

The skipper led from the front hammering a 11-ball 23 which was laced with three sixes and one four. Yashasvi, meanwhile, continued the rampage even as Sharma departed. His 51-ball 72 derailed Bangladesh bowlers. Shubman Gill too played his role but it was the pair of Virat Kohli (35-ball 47) and KL Rahul (68 off 43) that made the bowlers look listless.
Matching each other stroke for stroke, all of them played fearless cricket with runs flowing from their willow at will. On their way to their final score, India recorded the fastest team 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 in men's Tests.
The Indian players slammed as many as 11 sixes and 28 fours. Out of their top seven batters, only two — Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja — had a strike rate of below 100.

India's assistant coach Morne Morkel said it was a part of their plan to force a result despite two days of play getting abandoned. "It was always a part of our game plan to see how can we push this going forward? And how can we get the winning result?" the former South African pacer told journalists at the press conference.

He also spoke about the team's intent and how the Indian players put pressure on their opponents with bat and ball. 'We knew that once we get the opportunity, we're always going to look at the positive way and how we can impact that. Throughout the day, we showed the intent that we're going to play. The way the boys went to the ball up-front, it was incredible to see. We created the pressure (with the ball) and brought wickets, and then to show the intent with the bat was awesome."

Morkel credited India's onfield performances to players' ability to play different styles of cricket. "We've got guys that can play different styles. If needed, they can take the game on. If needed, they can bat time. That's one of the advantages of our batting line-up is that we've got guys that can really sort of play the moment and put bowlers under pressure. That's one thing you want to do as a batter, is to put the bowlers under pressure. We've got the guys that know how to score big runs," he elaborated.

A total 18 wickets fell on the eventful day with India bowling out Bangladesh for 233. Resuming the day on 107/3, the visitors were undone by the Indian pacers with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj claiming three and two wickets each. Ashwin also added a wicket to his tally to finish with two while Jadeja sent back the last man to become the third left-arm spinner to join 300-wicket club in Tests.

India then reduced Bangladesh to 26/2 with Ashwin once again giving them twin success by bagging the wickets of opener Zakir Hasan and nightwatchman Hasan Mahmud. It would have been three had Rahul held on to an edge from Shadman Islam at third slip off Akash Deep's bowling.
With the last day of the match expected to be sunny with a little chance of precipitation, India can go all out for a win to tighten their hold on the top spot of the World Test Championship table. A win will make their way into the third WTC final easy and India will certainly look for it before their five-Test tour Down Under begins following a three-match home series against New Zealand.