IND vs BAN 1st Test Highlights Day 2: Bangladesh 133/8, trails India by 271; Kuldeep picks 4 for 33

India’s day. Bangladesh took the first hour of the first session with its bowlers sticking to disciplined lines and lengths. But once Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav dug in, it was India all along. First, the visiting side put up 404 before its bowlers ran through a shaky Bangladesh batting line-up. Mohammed Siraj had opener Shanto caught behind with the first ball of the innings. Umesh bagged one as well, and then the spinners, Kuldeep in particular, took over. Kuldeep, playing his first Test since early 2021, bagged four to snuff out whatever little hope Bangladesh may have had of a fightback. Ebadot Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz are at the crease. Bangladesh trail by 271 runs. Bangladesh need another 71 to avoid follow-on.

We will be back tomorrow with all live action from Day 3. Until then, adios!

Mushfiqur has been given out lbw off the bowling of Kuldeep. He reviews immediately. Looked pretty plumb to the naked eye. Three reds and Kuldeep has his third, Mushfiqur is out lbw. Bangladesh have lost their review. Taijul Islam is at the crease. Now, Taijul chops on off the last ball. Bangladesh unravelling. Ebadot is the new man in.

Memorable final session for Kuldeep, who is back in Test whites for the first time since early 2021. After troubling Nurul for a couple of overs, he finally gets his man, caught at short leg by Gill. Sharp take. A legbreak. Nurul goes back to work it to the on side but couldn’t keep it down. Gill does the rest. Mehidy Hasan Miraz is in next, with catchers breathing down his neck. Wicket-maiden for Kuldeep. Bangladesh trail by 307 runs.

Axar Patel comes into the attack, replaces Umesh. Spin from both ends. The umpires brought out the light meters earlier. The lights are fully on at the stadium. We are good to continue for now. Axar’s first over in Test cricket outside of India goes for 3.

GONE! Kuldeep Yadav, making a Test return, snaps up Shakib Al Hasan with the second ball of his very first over! It’s a procession at Chattogram. Inspired bowling change from KL Rahul. Nurul Hasan in at 7. He is off the mark with a first-ball four. Loud appeal for caught-behind against Nurul off the fourth ball. Not given. India don’t review. Good call. No bat involved and he was struck outside the line as well. There is another loud lbw appeal off the last ball! KL reviews this one. Nurul, the batter. Barest of margin - wickets is umpire’s call, so Nurul survives. India keep the review. What an over from Kuldeep - 5 runs and a wicket. Hold on, more drama. The ball bounces off the pads, and the umpire checks if the ball brushed the glove or bat before being caught by Gill. It didn’t. Eventful over.

Bangladesh’s most experienced pair is out in the middle. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim would like to continue this alliance till the stumps. They have added 17 for the 5th wicket so far. India, especially Mohammed Siraj, has razed through that Bangladesh top-order. Debutant Zakir played well for his 20 before becoming one of Siraj’s three wickets. Bangladesh still has a mountain of work ahead of it to achieve parity.

Mohammed Siraj so far: 9-1-14-3, BAN 74/4 in 24 overs

Siraj bags his third as Zakir pokes at a slightly wide ball and is caught behind. That ball held its line outside off. Zakir had left well outside off until that ball. The debutant gave a good account of himself but Bangladesh needed more from him, the hosts in complete disarray now. Shakib Al Hasan comes to the crease. BAN 56/4 in 17.2 overs

Siraj gets one over Litton, who gets an inside edge onto the stumps! Litton goes for a 30-ball 24. Just the ball before, Siraj had a few words to say to Litton and Litton gestured at Siraj, implying “what are you saying?” Clearly Siraj got under Litton’s skin. Mushfiqur Rahim comes to the crease. He has been greeted with a barrage of short balls by Siraj. Wicket-maiden from Siraj.

Siraj steams in from the otherf end. Two slips for debutant Zakir. Zakir plays a handsome looking drive off the fifth ball only for Cheteshwar Pujara to put in a dive at mid-off. Saved a certain boundary. Zakir gets just 1.

Ashwin resumes after the break, around the wicket to Zakir with two slips and a short leg. Slip, leg slip and short leg for Litton. Just one from the over.

India reached 404, buoyed by some big hits from Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. The fast-bowling duo then returned to reduce Bangladesh to 2/5. Siraj had opener Najmul Shanto caught behind the first ball of the innings before Umesh got Yasir Ali to chop on.

Litton Das and Zakir Hasan are at the crease and are currently staring at a mountain of runs. Das has already struck five delightful boundaries off Umesh, including a hat-trick of fours in the last over before tea.

Ashwin bowled one over with the new ball and conceded two boundaries. Surely, we will see him and Axar operate in tandem in the final session. Bangladesh trail by 367 runs with eight wickets left. Back in 20.

Litton Das collects two back-to-back boundaries off Umesh in the 8th over. Ashwin has now been pressed into the attack with an eight-over-old new ball. He replaces Siraj. Two slips, a leg slip and catching cover for Zakir, who gets an outside edge to third man for four. Zakir rewarded for playing with soft hands. Zakir does one better off the fifth ball, rocks back to a short ball and cuts it between point and cover for four. Two fours from Ashwin’s first.

Gone! Yasir Ali chops on. Umesh has his first wicket. That came in after pitching, Yasir playing away from his body and getting an inside edge. Litton Das comes in early in the innings. Two slips now and a catching short midwicket for him.

Umesh Yadav to share the new ball with Siraj. Zakir on strike. Three slips and a gully for the left-hander. Two slips and a gully for the ight-handed Yasir. Tidy start from Umesh - only two from the over.

Bangladesh openers Najmul Shanto and Zakir Hasan stride out. Siraj has the new ball. GONE! Disastrous start. Shanto is caught behind first ball of the innings! Pant takes a good catch diving to his left. Yasir Ali in at 3. Three slips and a gully in place for Yasir. Great start for India. 2 runs and a wicket from the first over.

India’s first innings comes to an end. They have been bowled out for 404. Taijul and Mehidy bag four wickets apiece. India’s tail once again adding vital runs with Ashwin bringing up a 13th Test 50. He was ably supported by Kuldeep, who got his best Test score of 40. Earlier, India rode on Pujara’s 90 and Iyer’s 86 to mount a comeback after an initial sliup. Rishabh Pant’s entertaining 46 added some momentum to the Indian batting on Day 1. Bangladesh bowlers were let down by their fielders on a few occasions. We will be back with Bangladesh’s response shortly.

Mohammed Siraj, the last man in, opens his account with a boundary! He gives Taijul the charge first ball and carves him over extra cover for four. Umesh Yadav promptly brings up the 400 with a six over midwicket off Mehidy in the next over! But shortly after, India’s innings comes to an end as Siraj is caught trying to hit a six.

One brings two. Kuldeep’s patient knock comes to an end. He is trapped lbw by Taijul for 40. Kuldeep reviews but he knows he is a goner. The replays confirm as much. Bangladesh have a chance to wrap up the India innings for less than 400.

Umesh Yadav opens his account with a mighty six over deep midwicket. Mehidy tosses the ball up and that’s all the invitation Umesh needs. Crash, bang, wallop. 8 runs and a wicket from that Mehidy over. IND 392/8 in 132 overs.

Ashwin’s vigilance comes to an end. He is stumped off the bowling of Mehidy for a brilliant 113-ball 58. He added 92 for the eighth wicket with Kuldeep, who is nearing his maiden Test fifty. Umesh Yadav comes to the crease.

Here’s N. Sudarshan from Chattogram: “It appears like the pitch has eased up for batting. Pujara did mention that in his post-match PC that it is easier against a softer ball. Kuldeep has been confidently sweeping and reverse-sweeping. What this partnership also does is give the two Indian spinners a ring side view of things.”

Immediately after Ashwin’s 50, there is a very loud lbw appal against Kuldeep. Once again, Bangladesh are convinced they’ve their man. The on-field umpire disagrees. Shakib reviews. Impact and wickets hitting umpire’s call. Kuldeep survives. That turned in from length from outside off. Bangladesh retains its last review. Kuldeep reaches his highest Test score of 28 by sweeping Taijul for four in his next over.

Ashwin moved to 49 by launching Taijul Islam over long-on for his second six. Terrific footwork from Ashwin, who gets to his 50 next ball with a single. A half-century off 91 balls. 13th Test 50 for Ashwin.

Khaled from the other end with a gully for Ashwin. There were no slips for Ashwin but a slip and gully are in place for Kuldeep. Khaled is coming around the wicket to Kuldeep. Three runs from Khaled’s over. Ashwin retains strike with a single off the last ball.

Ashwin is on strike and is nearing his 50. Left-arm spinner Taijul to kick things off. Slip and silly point for Ashwin, who gets a single to backward square leg off the second ball. Slip and short leg for Kuldeep, who is beaten on an attempted cut shot. The umpires go upstairs after the keeper appealed for an edge. The replays suggest there was no edge and Kuldeep had his foot inside the crease when the keeper took off the bails. Kuldeep has looked very comfortable playing the reverse. Three runs from the first over after Lunch.

Welcome back for the second session. Ashwin and Kuldeep have played out 22 overs on a pitch that has offered slow turn, with a few keeping low. The duo would look to build on the 55-run stand. For Bangladesh, the objective is simple: wrap up this India innings - sooner, the better.

Bangladesh bowlers began well. They conceded just 27 in the first hour and also picked up the wicket of Shreyas Iyer, who was clean-bowled by Ebadot Hossain for 86. But the second hour goes to India. Kuldeep Yadav, in the company of Ravichandran Ashwin, has thwarted the bowlers since. Kuldeep has displayed an uncomplicated technique and an assured defence, while Ashwin has used his feet against the spinners to keep the scoreboard ticking. The partnership is now worth 55 and is making the host edgy. India added 70 in that session in 30 overs for the loss of a wicket. We will be back for the second session at 11.40 am IST.

115.2: Taijul to Ashwin, loud appeal for lbw. The bowler is convinced. The umpire isn’t. Shakib reviews after much deliberation. Replays show the ball pitched in line, hit in the line of the leg stump but would have clipped the leg stump - umpire’s call on impact and Ashwin survives. Bangladesh retain their review.

115.6: Ashwin skips down the track to Taijul and sweetly places it through extra cover for four. He stayed leg side of the ball to open up the off side. Well played, vital runs for India. Ashwin not far from another Test fifty.

India awarded five additional runs. Here’s why: Off the second ball of the 112th over, being bowled by Taijul, Ashwin got an outside edge to the third man for a couple. Yasir was chasing the ball, and his throw hit the pair of helmets behind the keeper. That’s five extra runs. One ball later, there was a loud appeal for lbw against Kuldeep, but it was going down leg.

Our reporter on the ground, N Sudarshan: “Bangladesh is giving away valuable runs here. Kuldeep has spent far too much time and even has the confidence to reverse-sweep Taijul. Regardless of the condition of the pitch, 350 plus score will bring substantial scoreboard pressure.”

Mehidy Hasan Miraz wants left-handed Kuldeep Yadav on strike more often. He has a slip, silly point, and short leg in place for him. To Kuldeep’s credit, he has defended well on the front foot and back foot so far. He has been beaten occasionally by the turn, but Ashwin will feel confident about rotating strike here. Kuldeep giving a good account of his batsmanship. What’s more? Kuldeep reverse sweeps Taijul, who has replaced Khaled, for four behind square and moves to 10. Taijul bowled over the wicket to Kuldeep with a slip, leg slip and short leg. The partnership between Kuldeep and Ashwin is already 20-plus. This should frustrate Bangladesh.

Immediately after the break, Khaled comes around the wicket at Kuldeep with a slip, gully and short leg. He bowls a short ball and, Kuldeep, who is expecting it, hangs back and pulls it disdainfully through midwicket for his first boundary of the match.

Bangladesh fast bowlers are using the surface better on the second morning, when there is still variable bounce. They’ve tightened up and taken control of the first hour with the big wicket of Shreyas Iyer, who fell 14 short of his second Test hundred. India have managed just 27 off 15 overs in the first hour for the loss of a wicket.

Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed used the short-ball ploy. With an 11-over-old ball, Ebadot began bowling short at Iyer and Ashwin with a strong field square and behind on the leg side. Iyer’s wicket has brought Kuldeep to the crease. Kuldeep and Ashwin have taken India past the 300-mark.

DRINKS

Ebadot walked off after that Iyer dismissal. Not sure why. But he is replaced by Khaled. There’s a loud caught-behind appeal against Kuldeep off the very first ball. UltraEdge confirms there’s no edge and Bangladesh loses its second review. There are two slips in place for Kuldeep. A stifled lbw appeal off the last ball but no interest from Shakib and rightly so. Khaled starts his new spell with a maiden.

Ebadot has bowled brilliantly this morning and he has now been rewarded for his persistence with the prized wicket of Shreyas Iyer, who is clean bowled for 86 off 192! It was a short of a length ball that came in with the angle before straightening and beating Iyer’s outside edge and crashing into the stumps. Kuldeep Yadav is the new man in.

Ebadot Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan have made their intentions clear. With no swing or seam on offer, Ebadot will try the short-ball ploy. Ebadot tested Ashwin and Iyer with the bouncer in the 96th over. There was a short leg in place for Ashwin. The plan nearly worked against Iyer, who received yet another reprieve. Iyer got a leading edge to fine leg as he tried to hook a bouncer. Litton Das, however, failed to latch on sliding forward. Das hurt himself in the process and went off. In the next over, against Mehidy - who replaced Taijul - Ashwin lofted one over the long-on fence for six.

Short-ball ploy: Fast bowlers around the world know Iyer doesn’t fancy the short ball. Ebadot in his last over tried a couple of short balls against the right-hander. Unfortunately, there is not great bounce in the pitch for that bouncer to threaten Iyer.

Meanwhile, there’s a loud lbw appeal against Ashwin off the last ball of the same over. It’s given not out but Bangladesh review. Replays confirm the impact is outside off. Ashwin survives and Bangladesh loses a review.

Taijul continues. Ashwin on strike. There are two men catching on the drive with a slip and short leg for the Indian spin spearhead. Slip and short leg for Iyer, who is not far away from his second Test hundred. There’s just one fielder in the deep on the off-side. Surely, Iyer must be tempted to go over the top against Taijul. However, he plays out two dot balls.

Ebadot Hossain (17-1-63-0) is back into the attack. Stifled appeal for lbw against Ashwin off the second ball. But looks like it was going down leg. The height was an issue as well. Let’s not forget this is the second new ball. It’s still a touch hard, only 11 overs old. But Ashwin gets a taste of the surface as the very next ball keeps low. Ashwin pokes and misses. 2 from that Ebadot over.

All set for the action to begin. Left-arm spinner Taijul will start the proceedings. Slip and short leg for Shreyas Iyer, who works it to backward point for a single. Straightaway, signs of low bounce. Two slips and short leg in place for Ashwin, who comfortably defends the first two balls. Ashwin hs no trouble negotiating the remaining deliveries. Just 1 from the first over of the day’s play.

Ravichandran Ashwin will walk out to bat with Shreyas Iyer. Ashwin is no mug with the bat. He has five Test hundreds to his name. Ashwin’s main task will be to hold up one end. Iyer’s approch will be watched closely - there’s no need for him to farm strike yet but does he up the ante and get as many as possible or be his natural self so long as Ashwin’s out there?

Meanwhile, here’s Cheteshwar Pujara talking about his innings from yesterday: “Happy with the way I batted. There were a couple of crucial partnerships. I am disappointed I didn’t get the hundred but that’s part of the game. When the ball is hard, it’s a bit more challenging. You are never set as a batter. If you are not concentrating enough, you can get out. If you bowl in the right areas, there’s enough for the bowlers.”

It will be interesting to see how the wicket plays today. It was on the slower side yesterday and the odd ball was keeping low. With the new ball in the morning session, Bangladesh started with three slips and a gully before switching to one slip and a gully soon.. That should give a fair idea of the nature of the surface. What does Day 2 hold?

Welcome back. We are just 30 minutes away from start of day’s play. India would hope to at least score 350 if not more and Bangladesh would want to wipe out the tail as quickly as possible.

A middle-order rescue act led by Cheteshwar Pujara (90, 203b, 11x4) and Shreyas Iyer (82 batting, 169b, 10x4) carried India to a respectable 278 for six at Stumps on day one of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here.

The host could have gone into the second day with significant tailwind if wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan had not grassed a low catch off Pujara when on 12 and Ebadot Hossain had not made a mess of a sitter at deep mid-wicket off Shreyas when on 67.

Ebadot’s misery was compounded when he breached Shreyas’s defence and got the ball to kiss the off-stump only for the bails to budge but not fall.

Much of the day’s cricket was slow burn. Perhaps it had to be after India, which elected to bat, found itself 48 for three on a pitch that was not quite the “batting paradise”. There was uneven bounce from as early as the second over and significant turn, which will surely please India’s three spinners (R. Ashwin, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav).

Still, this is a time when the world seems enthralled by the way England is setting the standards in red-ball cricket, an approach that current India captain KL Rahul has doffed his hat to and Rishabh Pant (46, 45b, 6x4, 2x6) seemingly embraces.

But Pujara is neither a trendsetting tastemaker of swashbuckling things nor does he live aesthetically as someone else. He found the answer within himself and for a good while appeared set for this first three-figure mark in almost four years (since 193 versus Australia in January 2019).

The 34-year-old used his feet well to negate the turn, had the bat well in front of the pad to avoid the leg-before and close-in dismissals and punished the short deliveries by either rocking back to cut or steering them on the leg side.

Shreyas provided the aggressive spark from time to time, like the uppish flick to the mid-wicket fence to get to his half-century and the dance down the track to loft left-arm spinner Taijul Islam over mid-wicket. The duo put on 149 runs for the fifth wicket, which may ultimately prove match-defining.

Through this, Taijul was excellent for Bangladesh (30-8-84-3), bowling a middle and leg-stump line with sufficient drift and repeatedly beating the batters outside off.

He scalped two of the best – Kohli went on the backfoot for a ball that was only deceptively short and paid the price; Pujara thought he had all ends covered, only for the ball to do enough to slip past the bat but not as much to miss the stumps.

Earlier, Rahul and Shubman Gill negotiated the opening hour cautiously. But just as they looked set to up the rate, Gill was caught in the leg-slip area by Yasir Ali, who smartly moved from first slip as the batter shaped to sweep Taijul.

Rahul was bowled off the inside edge by Khaled Ahmed. And when Taijul sent Kohli back and leapt with joy, Bangladesh was clearly on the ascendency, only to be brought back down, slowly and steadily.

- N. Sudarshan

India: KL Rahul (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, K.S. Bharat, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Yasir Ali, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Zakir Hasan, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Anamul Haque.