Umesh, Ashwin help India take upper hand
Umesh Yadav and R Ashwin's four-fers, well-aided by Jaydev Unadkat's 2 for 50 on Test comeback after 12 years, helped India bowl out Bangladesh for 227 on the opening day of the second Test, in Mirpur. Mominul Haque, with an 84 on his Test return, drove Bangladesh's batting while a handful of others threw away promising starts. Running out of partners as India kept breaking threatening stands, the Bangladesh no. 3 succumbed himself about an hour away from stumps amidst a late collapse of 5 for 14.
India's stand-in captain KL Rahul was candid enough to admit he had no idea what to do on a greenish Mirpur track where his counterpart, Shakib al Hasan, opted to bat. Expectedly, the hosts had brought in Taskin Ahmed besides Mominul, but the visitors sprang a surprise with their tough call to leave out the Player of the Match on Test comeback from Chattogram, Kuldeep Yadav, for Unadkat, who vindicated the call soon enough.
Shakib had wanted his batters to see through the first session cautiously before the pitch eased out for batting, and the Bangladesh openers held up their end of the bargain for the first hour even if it was laced with fair bit of luck. India's three-pronged pace attack was mostly on the money with the ball beating the bat plenty of times, but the openers hung in. Amongst a host of edges that evaded the fielders, was one clear chance that Zakir Hasan offered off the first ball he faced but a running-in and diving Mohammed Siraj shelled it.
The breakthrough arrived on the other side of the drinks break when Unadkat, with second most no. of matches missed (118) between his two appearances for India, opened his account in Test cricket. Zakir was undone by the extra bounce, cramped for room trying to cut a short of length ball and offered a simple take for Rahul at fourth slip. In the next over, Najmul Hossain Shanto was given LBW shouldering arms to a straight ball from Ashwin. The Bangladesh opener reviewed only to find the ball just clipping the off-stump and the on-field decision upheld.
Despite nine successive innings of single-digit scores prior, Mominul looked solid in the middle as he formed the fulcrum around which the Bangladesh batting revolved. He was quick to pounce on anything overpitched or when the bowlers offered width while Shakib, having promoted himself to no. 4, stepped out a couple of times to take on Ashiwn early into his knock.
The offie could have had his revenge moments before Lunch if not for a tough leg-side stumping chance that Rishabh Pant missed. Shakib's luck ran out soon though with a poor shot first ball after the break that the Bangladesh skipper tamely chipped to mid-off to bring curtains on the 43-run stand.
Rahim joined hands with Mominul to rebuild for the hosts again through their 48-run partnership for the fourth wicket. He got going with a drive through the off-side and brought up the team's 100 by the end of the 36th over. On either side of it was an LBW appeal he survived - the first after India burnt a review because the impact was outside off, and the second that they didn't even check (probably due to height) but was actually clipping leg-stump. Rahim brushed it off quickly and finished the next over from Ashwin with a hat-trick of boundaries forcing the spinner out of the attack.
Mominul, meanwhile, carried on in the same vein and even upped the ante as he took on Unadkat. He flicked the seamer through midwicket on consecutive balls. The pacer hit back by getting the better of Rahim at the other end with a peach - angled in and shaping away from the right-hander who nicked it to Pant's right to fall on 26. However, the breakthrough failed to slow down Mominul, who ramped a bouncer over the slip cordon for four before reaching his half-century with a cut to backward point off a short and wide delivery.
Litton Das, who had to drop down to six, took on Siraj at the other end with a backfoot punch for four and a swivel-pull for six off successive balls. He had quickly raced to a run-a-ball 25 before Ashwin returned to put an end to the fireworks with a tossed-up off-break that the Bangladesh batter flicked straight to midwicket.
India burnt a second review hoping to reverse an LBW appeal that was struck down against Mominul but the ball was pitching outside leg. Together with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, he saw through to Tea with Bangladesh having added 102 runs for three wickets in the session, and continued the repair job upon return. Mominul marched into the 80s with a slog over long-on off Ashwin but Umesh returned to break yet another budding partnership in time, triggering a fatal collapse.
Moments after receiving some treatment, Mehidy slashed at a wide delivery to nick behind while in his next over, Pant convinced Rahul to review a plumb LBW call against his counterpart Nurul Hasan that was struck down on-field. On the other side of drinks, Umesh had his fourth scalp in Taskin. Mominul's pursuit for the century ended moments later when he walked after nicking Ashwin behind. A ball later, the offspinner too registered a four-fer when Khaled Ahmed heaved to offer a low catch in the deep.
The eight overs India had to negotiate in fading light saw Shubman Gill starting off in fine touch with six straight down the ground off Shakib. Rahul, on the other hand, has had a couple of escapes already with Bangladesh using up a review on a caught-behind appeal and then the India captain utilising one of his to get out of an LBW when the ball was missing stumps. By close, India were 19 without loss.
Brief scores: India 19/0 (Shubman Gill 14*) trail Bangladesh 227 (Mominul Haque 84; Umesh Yadav 4-25, R Ashwin 4-71) by 208 runs
Source: Cricbuzz
