The flash of fighting spirit shown by the Bangladesh batsmen on Thursday slowly dissolved into an abject surrender by the batting line-up to an Indian attack that did not give an inch.
The performance of Jasprit Bumrah (4/50) has been a force to be reckoned with even by the best batsmen in world cricket of late, and Bangladesh’s fragile batting line-up has been a mere footnote on the long list.
After conceding 149 in the first innings, Bangladesh surrendered a lead of 227, sending fans in Chennai with tickets for Saturday’s match into a frenzy. The party mood was somewhat dampened at the end of the day by the consecutive dismissals of Rohit Sharma (5) and Virat Kohli (17).
Kohli did, however, have an inside edge when he missed a flick from off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz, which was adjudged leg-before, but strangely he did not ask for a dismissal.
In the end, entertainers Rishabh Pant (batting 12) and Shubman Gill (batting 33) were at bat, the lead was already 308, and there were still seven wickets in play. While the first half of the morning session did not go to plan for India, with Ravindra Jadeja (86) missing out on a well-deserved century, the rest of the day was a mismatch between master and novice.
It was clear from the start that Bumrah (4/50) would be dangerous. What made it difficult to watch for those who were looking forward to a contest was the lack of commitment from the Bangladeshi batsmen.
The procession began in the first session when left-hander Shadman Islam threw his arms to Bumrah, who was bowling around the wicket, and was bowled. The bounce and movement that Bumrah generated from a long length delivery was responsible for Mushfiqur Rahim driving a ball to slip while the over was just cannon fodder.
Akash Deep leaves an impression
While Bumrah did what he normally does, it was the entry of Bengal pacer Akash Deep that left his mark. It is true that left-handers Zakir Hasan and Mominul Haque do not exactly have the big league chops, but Akash Deep hit the right length from the start. The 27-year-old – who is well in the running for a place in the Test squad for the Australia series – got the ball to cut back far enough to take Mominul and Zakir out of play, leaving Bangladesh 22-3 ahead of lunch.
Bangladesh paceman Taskin Ahmed admitted that the batting left a lot to be desired. However, he felt that the SG ball also played a part in Bangladesh’s capitulation. “The Indian players are used to playing with the SG ball. In the first 10 overs, it is quite important and we probably couldn’t adapt. A better performance was expected from our batsmen,” he said.
With the Bangladesh batting line-up’s backs broken in the first session, it was up to Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan to mount a comeback. Both have experience of playing in India and for a while the duo seemed to give them a little hope. But it was their tendency to sweep a little too much against spinners that brought about their downfall.
