Centuries by Murali Vijay and skipper Virat Kohli saw India amass a commanding total of 356/3 on Day 1 of the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Vijay scored a fluent knock – 108 runs off 160 balls – and anchored the batting effort, after opening partner KL Rahul was dismissed in the day’s first over. He shared a 179-run stand with Chesteshwar Pujara for the second wicket to take India to a position of strength.
Kohli soon joined the party and brought up his 16th Test century, taking India past the 350-run mark. With the ton, Kohli now has a Test century against every opposition he has played so far, except Zimbabwe and Pakistan, teams he has yet to face in the longest format.
After Rahul’s early dismissal, India were left on a sticky wicket, but Vijay and Pujara together got the team close to the 200-run mark. While Vijay completed his century, Pujara failed to reach the three-figure mark falling for 83.
Though he missed one milestone, the Rajkot lad still managed to achieve another feat – Pujara broke Chandu Borde’s record for most runs by an Indian batsman in one season. Borde had scored 1,604 runs in the 1964-’65 season that included runs in Tests as well as first-class games. The scored helped Pujara eclipse the tally by one run, failing to extend it further as he was caught behind off Mehedi Hasan Miraz soon after.
Vijay was joined by in-form Kohli, who had another solid outing. The two pieced together a calm 54-run stand before Vijay was castled by Taijul Islam and returned to the pavilion with India at 234/3. Kohli soldiered on with comeback man Ajinkya Rahane for company. He dominated the Bangladeshi bowlers, knocking 12 boundaries, and shut out any possibility of a late fightback from the visitors.
The India captain was unbeaten at 111 off 141 balls, while Rahane was on batting at 45 off 60 when the stumps were drawn.
Brief scores:
- India 356/3 (Murali Vijay 108, Chesteshwar Pujara 83, Virat Kohli 111*, Ajinkya Rahane 45*; Taskin Ahmed 1/58) vs Bangladesh.
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