Bowlers rule roost as India complete series sweep against Bangladesh
It was one of the most exhilarating performances by the Indian team despite losing more than 200 overs of play with two days of complete wash-out
PTI
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The outright victory consolidated India's pole position in the ICC World Test Championship Table (WTC) with 74.24 percentage points. PHOTO: PTI
Kanpur, 1 Oct
Ravichandran Ashwin drew first
blood, Ravindra Jadeja ripped the heart out while Jasprit Bumrah put the final
nail in Bangladesh's coffin as India routed the visitors by seven wickets in
the second Test to complete a record-extending 18th series win at home here on
Tuesday.
It was one of the most exhilarating
performances by the Indian team despite losing more than 200 overs of play with
two days of complete wash-out. The outright victory consolidated India's pole
position in the ICC World Test Championship Table (WTC) with 74.24 percentage
points.
Bangladesh needed a resolute
fightback on the final day to salvage a draw but they collapsed to 146 after
resuming the day 26 for two. Bumrah (3/17 in 10 overs), Ravichandran Ashwin
(3/50 in 15 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/34 in 10 overs) shared bulk of the
spoils. India scored the required 95 runs in 17.2 overs with 'Player Of The
Match' Yashasvi Jaiswal (51) scoring his second fifty of the match.
For Bangladesh, opener Shadman
Islam (50) and former skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (37) were the only batters who
offered some resistance while others succumbed to relentless pressure from the
home bowlers after a top notch batting performance to make a match of it.
The biggest disappointment was
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's reckless reverse sweep off Jadeja
that opened the floodgates. After Ashwin removed first innings centurion
Mominul Haque in the firsts few minutes, Jadeja broke the back of Bangladeshi
middle-order with his sizzling performance, while Bumrah also contributed to
the win with his incisive bowling that resulted in three wickets.
India, who had a 52-run first
innings lead, knocked off the required 95 runs in 17.2 overs after losing Rohit
Sharma (8) and Shubhman Gill (6) to off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Jaiswal and
Virat Kohli (29 not out) shared a 58-run stand for the third wicket.
Like the first inninngs, Rohit and
Jaiswal went after the Bangladeshi bowlers even as the home skipper departed
early when his sweep off Miraz landed straight into the hands of Hasan Mahmud. Shubman
Gill was also trapped by Miraz.
Kohli worked the ball around to go
steady, while Jaiswal also batted with maturity to complete his second
successive half-century. With just three runs required to complete the win,
Jaiswal went after Taijul Islam and ended up giving a catch to Shakib at extra
cover. Rishabh Pant (4) finished the game in style with a boundary off Taijul.
India have not lost a match to
Bangladesh in Test cricket and the fact that they won this contest in a mere
six sessions after losing two full days to rain, speaks volumes of the gulf
between the two teams.
Beginning the decisive day at 26
for two, Bangladesh lost overnight batter and first innings centurion Mominul
to Ashwin quickly but Shadman (50 off 101) kept one end tight with his fighting
knock that had 10 boundaries. Shadman raised a 55-run stand with his skipper
for the fourth wicket but Shanto (19 off 37) undid the good work with his poor
shot selection. He tried to reverse sweep Jadeja, and missed the line to be
bowled. Pacer Akash had Shadman caught in the gully by Jaiswal.
Once Shadman was dismissed,
Bangladesh batting fell apart with Jadeja proving to be too hot to handle for
the visitors. The left-arm spinner got rid of Shanto, Litton Das (1) and Shakib
Al Hasan (0) in a spell that broke the back of Bangladesh middle-order. Shakib
could not even open his account in probably the last innings of his Test
career. His half-hearted defensive shot went straight back to Jadeja while Das
nicked one behind the wicket.
Bumrah then got rid of Miraz (9)
and Taijul Islam (0) to further pile on the Bangladesh misery. He closed the
Bangladesh innings by cleaning up Rahim (37). Shadman negotiated the Indian
bowlers with confidence. He swept Ashwin and drove Bumrah with authority but
Mominul did not last long.
He swept Ashwin but the ball bounced
a tad more with KL Rahul, taking a catch at leg-slip. Aswhin's third wicket
brought rival skipper Shanto to the crease. Shanto took some time to settle,
remaining circumspect for a while.
Shadman though batted solid from
his end. His defence was compact against Ashwin and he was not afraid to use
his feet against the off-spinner. He rotated the strike and kept finding
boundaries to keep the score ticking.
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