INDIA TOUR OF BANGLADESH 2022

Rishabh Pant (93) and Shreyas Iyer (87) both missed out on centuries but put India in a strong position with a significant 87-run first-innings lead on Day 2 of the second Test in Mirpur. Bangladesh bowlers, led by Taijul Islam (4-74) and skipper Shakib al Hasan (4-79) led the team’s fightback on either side of the damaging 159-run fifth-wicket partnership that came in just 30.1 overs. Bangladesh began on a bright note with Taijul’s triple strikes keeping a tight lid on India’s scoring in the morning session. He became only the second Bangladesh cricketer, after Shakib, to dismiss India’s top-three in an innings.

On a track which still had enough assistance for the bowlers, India’s sedate start to Day 2 was interrupted in the sixth over when KL Rahul was hit flush on the front pad. The loud, confident appeal was turned down on-field but Taijul convinced his captain to opt for a review with three seconds remaining on the clock, and was vindicated. He struck again on the first ball of his next over to take out the other overnight batter, Shubman Gill – trapped plumb in front this time after completely missing his attempted sweep.

While the runs weren’t exactly forthcoming, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli stuck it out. The third-wicket pair stitched a handy partnership of 34 but just as they looked settled in, an alert piece of fielding from Mominul Haque at forward short leg got Bangladesh another vital breakthrough. In disbelief, Pujara stood his ground even as the umpires went upstairs to check Bangladesh’s claim of a low catch. The India no. 3 had gently nudged a fuller delivery towards the close-in fielder, and the replays confirmed the catch to be legit.

India could have been in further trouble had Bangladesh latched on to any of the chances offered early on by Pant or Virat Kohli. While the former had slashed at a short and wide delivery from Mehidy Hasan Miraz that was shelled at slip, the latter nearly ran himself out, taking off for a non-existent single last ball before Lunch.

Although Kohli didn’t last long after. Taskin Ahmed, at the beginning of a testing post-Lunch spell, got the former India captain to poke at a delivery outside off and sent him packing for a hard-earned 24. However, that was only the beginning of a two-hour toil for the hosts as Pant and Iyer threw caution to the wind.

The pair transferred the pressure right back onto Bangladesh with a stunning counterattack that turned the game on its head. After being watchful for about a dozen deliveries upfront, Iyer took on the short ball challenge from Taskin and dispatched the pacer for back to back boundaries to get going. The extra bounce did take him by surprise early on. Iyer got away with one he awkwardly pushed at that flew just wide of gully but nearly got caught on 19 one ball later, slashing hard another such ball.

Pant meted out similar treatment to Khaled Ahmed, picking back to back boundaries as the pair raised their fifty stand in under nine overs. He took on Taijul next, merrily slog-sweeping Bangladesh’s best bowler on the day over cow-corner before reaching his own half-century in just 49 deliveries. Iyer got a second life on 21 when Nurul Hasan fluffed a stumping opportunity off Shakib, and the batter made Bangladesh pay immediately with two stunning boundaries – a late-cut and a loft straight down – to close the over leading up to the drinks break.

On the other side, Pant added insult to Shakib’s injury with a one-handed six smoked straight over long-on to force Bangladesh into a bowling change. That proved to be of little help though as the India ‘keeper welcomed Mehidy back into the attack with another maximum that would have ideally been caught at the ropes by the leaping Mushfiqur Rahim. Pant used his feet excellently to put the Bangladesh spinners under pressure, and Taijul was the receiving end once again when the batter brought up the hundred of his partnership with a four and India’s 200 next ball with another brutal hit over long-on ropes. A trademark one-handed 100m strike followed in the next over from Mehidy.

Iyer, who reached his second successive fifty of the series just before heading for Tea, put India in a lead with a brace right after. He then went on to raise both the impending milestones – 150 of the fifth-wicket partnership and India’s 250 – with a four each. But Shakib played the architect of Bangladesh’s little fightback in the evening that saw India lose their last six wickets for just 64 once Mehidy had managed to break the stand at 159.

Visibly in some discomfort, Pant fell in the 90s for the sixth time in Test cricket when he gently poked at a delivery spinning away from him to send an edge to the keeper. Axar Patel walked out ahead of Ashwin to help India maintain the left-right combination but departed cheaply, trying to take the aerial route against Shakib.

The Bangladesh skipper picked up the bigger prize in his next over, trapping Iyer plumb in front when he missed his sweep. Just 13 away from his century, the India batter opted for a desperate review but to no avail. Bangladesh had sent a couple of calls upstairs before Ashiwn was finally given out LBW to Shakib, who picked his third in quick succession.

Once Umesh Yadav had pushed India past the 300-run mark with his boundary-filled little cameo of 14, Taijul had him edging to slip for his fourth while Shakib got there a couple of overs later when Siraj slogged and missed and Nurul was quick to dislodge the bails.

With the pitch only getting tougher to bat on as the game progresses, India’s lead of 87 could prove quite handy. Bangladesh openers did manage to bring it down to 80 while safely negotiating a tricky phase of six overs under lights before the stumps were drawn.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 227 & 7/0, trail India 314 (Rishabh Pant 93, Shreyas Iyer 87; Taijul Islam 4-75, Shakib al Hasan 4-79) by 80 runs. (Cricbuzz)