DHAKA: Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin claimed four wickets apiece Thursday as India bowled out Bangladesh for 227 runs in their first innings of the second Test in Dhaka.
India, pressing for a 2-0 series sweep, finished the day on 19 for no loss with stand-in skipper K.L. Rahul (three) and Shubman Gill (14) seeing off the final eight overs.
Rahul had been given lbw to Shakib Al Hasan but the batsman reviewed the decision which was overturned after replays confirmed the ball would have missed the stumps.
Mominul Haque top-scored with 84 but the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals to end their innings about an hour before stumps after electing to bat first.
Umesh earlier picked up 4-25 and Ashwin grabbed 4-71 as India stopped Bangladesh from building a significant partnership, despite several batsmen getting decent starts.
“It’s a 50-50 wicket. It is not like it is fully for the pacers or spinners. Some balls are doing something and some are not,” Umesh said after the day’s play.
“You have to be patient. One odd ball is kicking from back of length, and if you bowl full it is not swinging or doing anything. There is no pace.”
On a day when several batsmen squandered starts, Mominul was the glorious exception who dug his heels in and kept the scoreboard ticking after Bangladesh lost both of their openers in the morning session.
India sprang a surprise by dropping spinner Kuldeep Yadav, whose match-haul of eight wickets in their comprehensive victory in Chittagong earned him the player-of-the-match award.
Jaydev Unadkat was picked instead and the left-arm seamer, playing in his second Test 12 years after his first, drew first blood by removing Zakir Hasan for 15.
Zakir, who smashed a century in his Test debut in Chittagong, could have been dismissed for a golden duck but Mohammed Siraj dropped him in the deep in the second over of the day.
Najmul Hossain (24) was trapped lbw by Ashwin after offering no shot to a ball which rapped him below the knee roll. Shakib (16) survived a stumping opportunity before lunch but could not capitalise on it and fell to the first ball after the break.
Mushfiqur Rahim (26) fell to Unadkat and Litton Das made a run-a-ball 25 before chipping an Ashwin delivery to Rahul at midwicket.
Bangladesh had scored 184-5 at the tea break and crumbled in the final session when Umesh bowled an incisive spell to claim three successive wickets.
The pacer dented the hosts’ lower order and Ashwin removed Mominul and Khaled Ahmed in the space of three balls as Bangladesh wilted in 74 overs.
Mominul, who relinquished the captaincy in May after overseeing a string of defeats, hit 12 fours and a six before his bizarre dismissal.
The number three batsman lunged forward but then decided to leave the ball from Ashwin which brushed his glove en route to Rishabh Pant behind the wicket. The spinner ended the Bangladesh innings two balls later, with last man Khaled giving a catch to Unadkat at deep mid-wicket.—Agencies
Scoreboard
BANGLADESH (1st Innings):
Najmul Hossain lbw b Ashwin 24
Zakir Hasan c Rahul b Unadkat 15
Mominul Haque c Pant b Ashwin 84
Shakib Al Hasan c Pujara b Umesh 16
Mushfiqur Rahim c Pant b Unadkat 26
Litton Das c Rahul b Ashwin 25
Mehidy Hasan c Pant b Umesh 15
Nurul Hasan lbw b Umesh 6
Taskin Ahmed c Siraj b Umesh 1
Taijul Islam not out 4
Khaled Ahmed c Unadkat b Ashwin 0
EXTRAS (B-3, LB-7, W-1) 11
TOTAL (all out, 73.5 overs) 227
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-39 (Zakir), 2-39 (Najmul), 3-82 (Shakib), 4-130 (Mushfiqur), 5-172 (Liton), 6-213 (Mehidy), 7-219 (Nurul), 8-223 (Taskin), 9-227 (Mominul)
BOWLING: Siraj 9-1-39-0, Umesh 15-4-25-4, Unadkat 16-2-50-2 (1w), Ashwin 21.5-3-71-4, Axar 12-3-32-0
INDIA (1st Innings):
K.L. Rahul not out 3
S. Gill not out 14
EXTRAS (NB-2) 2
TOTAL (no wickets, eight overs) 19
STILL TO BAT: C. Pujara, V. Kohli, R. Pant, S. Iyer, A. Patel, R. Ashwin, J. Unadkat, U. Yadav, M. Siraj
BOWLING: Taskin 4-2-8-0 (2nb), Shakib 4-2-11-0
Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2022