Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar praised wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant for his century and stressed that the left-hander has an excellent defensive technique like legendary former captain MS Dhoni. Centuries from Gill and Rishabh Pant helped India set a massive target of 515 runs in the first Test in Chennai. The two future batting stars for India took apart the Bangladesh bowlers with some merciless hitting and continued their good form in the long format.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said: “We see a misleading package in Rishabh Pant. Underneath, you see as many dot balls in his innings as Shubman Gill, so he is also willing to play the defensive game which we have seen a lot in the past. He has a pretty good defensive technique, similar to Dhoni, whose defensive technique was pretty good. People talk about the leadership qualities and the batting power that Dhoni had, but his defensive technique was pretty good and the same goes for Rishabh Pant as well.”

Manjrekar said that Pant does not take too many risks against off-spinners and that he is a player who “has his own way of scoring runs and has his own agenda”, like legendary opener Virender Sehwag.

“We have seen those phases but it’s about Pant playing according to the situation, sometimes depending on his mood but also being very careful in picking the right bowlers. As long as there were off-spinners bowling, he didn’t take too many risks. So he’s the kind of player who has his own way of scoring runs and has his own agenda – a bit like Virender Sehwag. If India go to Australia then they really need him,” he added.

When it came to play, Bangladesh won the coin toss and decided to field first.

The top order collapsed and India were left at 34/3. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (56 in 118 balls, with nine fours) and Rishabh Pant (39 in 52 balls, with six fours) put on a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket to bring India into the game. After India were reduced to 144/6, Ravichandran Ashwin (113 in 133 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (86* in 117 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes) put on a 199-run partnership to help India to 376 in 91.2 overs.

Hasan Mahmud (5/83) was the best bowler for Bangladesh and destroyed the Indian top order by removing captain Rohit Sharma (6), Shubman Gill (0) and Virat Kohli (6). Taskin Ahmed also took three wickets for 55 runs.

In their first innings, Bangladesh lost wickets regularly. Shakib Al Hasan (32), Litton Das (22) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (27*) offered Bangladesh brief resistance, but Bumrah (4/50) and Akash Deep (2/19) broke Bangladesh’s batting. Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. Bangladesh were bowled out for 149 runs in their first innings and trailed by 227 runs.

In the second innings, India again quickly lost their top order and struggled at 67/3. But centuries from Gill (119*) and Rishabh Pant (109 in 128 balls, with 13 fours and four sixes) helped them reach 287/4 before the innings was over. Bangladesh had a huge win rate of 515.

Bangladesh started the run chase well, with openers Zakir Hasan (33) and Shadman Islam (35) putting on a 62-run opening stand. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (51* in 60 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) held the innings together, while Ravichandran Ashwin (3/63) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/18) were among the wickets. At the end of the third day, Bangladesh were 158/4, with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (51*) and Shakib Al Hasan (5*) unbeaten.

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