If Day 1 was any evidence, India versus Bangladesh is far from being a great cricketing rivalry

The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad bears a weary look. It is a prime venue for team India, as they usually play here annually. It is also the home ground for an Indian Premier League franchise, thus in summation sees hectic activity the year round. Not to mention, the latest renovation (at a high cost) of this stadium was finished as recently as 2012. And yet, this place doesn’t look the part of a modern, world-class venue.

The plight of the average fans doesn’t matter, though, as long as the field is green enough and the pitch good to play on. However, this state of affairs draws a parallel with the one-off Test in motion here. India versus Bangladesh – the Tigers’ first five-day match here, the ‘new rivalry’ renewed.

Not quite a rivalry

Thanks to their exploits in limited-overs’ cricket recently, Bangladesh have tried to stand up to the behemoth that is Indian cricket. In parts they have even been successful – winning at home in 2015 and then a tough outing in the 2016 World T20. Make no mistake, however, this excitement doesn’t lend to the Test arena as of now.

It is unlike India-Pakistan, where tempers can run high and the unexpected can be expected. It is unlike India-Sri Lanka even, a morose affair yet interspersed with juicy bits. These characteristics of both these rivalries traverse across formats.

Herein, the drama is missing, a saga isn’t being written, and the proceedings are stretched out. The gulf in class is apparent. Simply put, India-Bangladesh just doesn’t look the part of the rising ‘new rivalry’ of the sub-continent it has been branded to be.

Sure, it was only the first day of the Test, and there are four more to play. But the proceedings from day one should cast a serious doubt on whether Bangladesh can last the full distance here. In reaching 356/3 at stumps, India never got out of third gear, and there is more pain still to come for the Tigers.

Perhaps their best chance was to bat first. Inexperience means they are still only adjusting to the conditions here as compared to those prevailing in New Zealand. They may have played on similar pitches back home, but bowlers who are still early in their Test careers cannot make that switch quickly enough. Not when they are faced with the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, as well as in-form Murali Vijay.

Still, the visitors had promised that they would fight hard. On losing the toss, they kept up that promise, at least for the first hour’s play. The ball was moving about a bit, and KL Rahul was only too eager to get going. Maybe he too hasn’t switched over from limited-overs to the Test format yet.

The Vijay-Pujara show

There were no such doubts in the minds of Vijay and Pujara though. They were resolute, and determined to string together a long partnership. Running between the wickets was a sore point, and Vijay shouldn’t have survived a straight-cut opportunity. But Bangladesh squandered it, and this was the point in time when they were resigned to their fate on a true, day one wicket.

Both Vijay and Pujara opened up with their strokes, as the bounce was fair. The opener scored his second hundred in three innings. Add it to Rahul’s 199 in Chennai, and suddenly India’s worry about its openers’ form seems forgotten. As such, it was a tick mark on the to-do list before the Australia series begins. Pujara only added to it, showcasing that his form from the series against New Zealand and England hadn’t tapered off.

“We are similar characters and yet different to others in the dressing room. We both think and play in the same way, and in the middle we like each other’s company,” Vijay said, of his 178-run partnership with Pujara.

They scored at a fair clip of 3.54, but never looked troubled except that run-out chance. The Bangladesh pacers and spinners, both, were guilty of bowling a tad short, and thus not forcing the batsmen to change their approach to scoring runs. And the underlying aspect of this day’s play was this ease with which Indian batsmen were able to spend time at the crease.

Lack of penetration

None of the wickets that fell on Thursday – including Rahul’s dismissal off an inside-edge – were a consequence of tight bowling or sustained pressure on the batsmen. From Pujara’s unforced nick behind to Vijay’s subsequent dismissal bowled round the legs going for a mistimed flick, Bangladesh were lucky to get these breakthroughs. And this lack of penetration in their attack was a particular danger sign given the batsmen to follow.

If Vijay and Pujara are alike, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane aren’t dissimilar either. They like to play their shots and get the scoreboard ticking. While the latter needed some time to get familiar with the art of scoring runs after a poor series against England, the Indian skipper looked to carry on from 2016 at the very outset.

Kohli stroked his way to a half-century off 70 balls, almost a mirror image from his knock at the very start of this long season. Last summer, he had knocked off a double hundred against West Indies in Antigua with consummate ease. They were the easiest runs he had scored, until now that is, as he made short work of the Bangladesh attack.

The impact of Kohli’s innings was most visible in the last hour of play. Just like at the start of the day, the visitors could have made one last-ditch effort, lifted themselves in the field, and made an attempt to check the scoring. Continuing with an 80-over ball would have helped in this regard. Instead, they opted for the second new ball in the 82nd over.

Sample this: Kohli was on 56, and Rahane on 10, when drinks were taken at the end of 74 overs. In the next 16 overs, they added 90 runs with Kohli moving on to 111 not out and Rahane unbeaten on 45. They scored 65 runs in nine overs off the second new ball.

In all, Bangladesh gave away 150/1 in 32 overs in the last session of play. It was the biggest reminder of their inexperience against a powerhouse team that has perfected the art of hurting the opposition on home soil.