IND vs BAN 1st Test Highlights Day 5: India beats Bangladesh by 188 runs; Axar picks 4 for 77

That’s a comprehensive win. India beat Bangladesh by 188 runs and KL Rahul has his first Test win as captain. It didn’t take long on Day 5, less than an hour really. Shakib and Mehidy showed promise but once Mehidy fell, it was just a matter of time. Shakib entertained the sparse crowd with his pyrotechnics before being clean bowled by Kuldeep, who took 3 for 73. That would be all from our side. We will be back with more action from the second Test in Dhaka from 22nd. Until then, adios

Axar Patel has clean bowled Taijul!

Kuldeep bags another one. Ebadot caught at short leg as Kuldeep gets third of this innings and eight in the match. Khaled’s the last man in.

The bowling change works. Kuldeep castles Shakib, who was trying to play one attacking shot too many! Shakib hits six fours and six sixes. Ebadot is the new man in.

Siraj has been taken off the attack. Kuldeep to Shakib with a defensive field on the leg side. Two slips in place. After three balls, second slip moves to leg slip and the field comes up. Shakib meanwhile is undeterred as he sweeps Kuldeep for four.

Shakib is batting in T20 mode. Trying to unsettle the Indian bowlers by stepping out regularly. Siraj bowled a bouncer and Shakib hooked it over the fine-leg fielder for six. He followed it up by flat-batting the next ball towards long-off for four. Next over, he uses his feet again and smacks Axar over long-on for a big six.

Meanwhile, Shakib gets to his 30th Test fifty with a six off Axar in the next over - just skipped down the track and launched him over long-on. Shakib will now look to farm strike. He gets a single off the penultimate ball and Taijul keeps out the last delivery successfully.

There’s the breakthrough. Siraj gets rid of Mehidy, who is caught at backward point. He couldn’t keep his drive down. India now three wickets away from going 1-0 up. Here comes Taijul.

Here’s Axar to Shakib with a slip, leg slip and short leg. Shakib making his intentions clear by stepping out to Axar on the first three balls. Short leg moves to short midwicket for the last two balls. Shakib ends the over by sweeping Axar for a six.

We are all set for the final day’s play. All smiles in the Indian huddle as the players jog to their respective fielding positions. Out come Shakib and Mehidy. Shakib will take strike. Siraj will take the ball. Slip and a gully for Shakib with a short cover. Shakib flicks a leg-stump delivery to square leg for a single. Similar fields for Mehidy, who ends the over with a glorious cover drive for four. BAN 277/6 in 103 overs.

Bangladesh showed it had a stomach for a fight and displayed more than just a semblance of spirit as it reached 272 for six, chasing a mammoth 513, at stumps on day four of the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Where the expectation on Saturday was for Bangladesh to roll over in the face of fierce scoreboard pressure, opener Zakir Hasan shunned the pessimism to score a terrific century on his Test debut (100, 224b, 13x4, 1x6).

The 24-year-old had made his international bow nearly five years ago in a T20I match at home against Sri Lanka. That remained his sole outing on the world stage until the current Test, but the tag acquired then, of a T20 specialist, has stuck on, despite him having scored more than 1000 runs each in the last two First Class seasons and a fine 173 against the visiting India-A side recently.

Read N. Sudarshan’s ground report from Day 4 here