The pink ball is a devil. It is an attention seeker. The misconduct began from the very first session. Wobbling like a drunkard, it carried the message ‘watch me or you slip’ as India ran through Bangladesh on a sunny, and packed Eden Gardens on Friday.
It’s the pacers again who called the shots. They bowled 29.3 overs, with slow left-arm Ravindra Jadeja getting only one over. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wasn’t used at all.
Excited and high on adrenaline, Ishant Sharma exploited the new toy to full satisfaction beginning with a maiden over. He mixed it up between short of length, good length and fuller deliveries.
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Wriddhiman Saha was the busiest man behind the stumps. Wherever the pink ball went, he followed. He flew left and right to save the byes and grab two catches to complete 100+ dismissals in Test cricket. The athletic Saha had to crawl sideways, fly and squat – all simultaneously – to keep himself flexible. The dive [to his right] to catch Mahmudullah was the dismissal of the day as the ball got stuck in the webbing like it had a magnet. He knew the ball wouldn’t have carried to the slips.
The fast bowlers are generating plenty of bounce and late movement, forcing the ‘keeper and the slip cordon to remain extra alert.
Imrul Kayes’ (4) painful tour continued as he lasted 15 balls; dismissed lbw one ball after he called for a review to survive a caught behind. It skid in and would have crashed the leg stump.
Rohit Sharma proved he has been a fast learner as a pink ball fielder. India had concentrated on the slip catching sessions, against the white backdrop under the lights, for three days. He jumped to his right to catch a low offering off Umesh Yadav’s bowling to send Mominul Haque back.
When Mohammed Shami cleaned up Mushfiqur Rahim, there was a split second silence in the stadium. The crowd perhaps didn’t want the top batsman to depart before the floodlights came on. That’s the beauty of the spectators in this part of the world.
There were only two boundaries scored in the first 12 overs. At the end of the session, a short delivery from Shami hit Liton Das on his head. He retired hurt and left the ground for a scan and was subsequently replaced by Mehidy Hasan.
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Crumbling under the big match pressure, in front of its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh couldn’t go beyond 106 as Ishant (5/22) became the first Indian bowler to take a pink ball five-for. Yadav (3/29) and Shami (2/36) backed him well.
The ball started flying as soon as the lights were turned on. After the Liton concussion, Shami threw another bullet at Nayeem Hasan’s helmet. The bowler looked a tad worried. He hadn't anticipated that bounce. The Bangladesh physio rushed to the centre to ensure all was well.
Soon after, as mobile phone lights came on from the stands, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (8) didn’t locate Cheteshwar Pujara at mid-wicket while flicking an Ishant delivery. The Indian pacer's movement off the surface and late out-swing with pace fetched him the wickets of Ebadat Hossain (1) and Nayeem Hasan (19).
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