After a century in the first innings, Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling excellence shone in the second innings as India cruised to a decisive 280-run victory with five sessions remaining in the first Test against Bangladesh, finishing on Sunday.
With this victory, India retains its perfect record against its Asian opponents and takes a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 234, with Ashwin annihilating their batting order with figures of 6/88, after the visitors resumed their second innings at 158/4 on Sunday, Day 4 of the match.
Ashwin leads from the front
Bangladesh reached 194/4 at the first drinks break but Ashwin altered the course of the match.
Despite little assistance from the pitch, his sharp angles from around the wicket undid Shakib Al Hasan and precipitated a collapse.
He claimed his 37th five-wicket haul, beating Sir Richard Hadlee’s record and matching Shane Warne. Ravindra Jadeja also played an important role in dismissing Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das.
Skipper Shanto’s resillient innings (82) gave Bangladesh hope, but his dismissal in the 59th over effectively stopped their comeback.
Jadeja’s supporting act
Shanto stood as the lone warrior for Bangladesh but found little assistance from the other end.
Ravindra Jadeja provided valuable support to Ashwin, claiming three wickets for 58 runs. The left-arm spinner dismissed Das for one as the wicketkeeper-batter edged to skipper Rohit Sharma at first slip.
The day started brightly for the visitors with Shanto and Al Hasan (25) adding 48 for the fifth wicket, showing resistance against India’s bowlers during the first hour of play.
Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the pacers in this period consistently hitting good lines and generating pace but the batters either ended up edging or fell short of the fielders.
Al Hasan survived a scare when Rishabh Pant missed a stumping off Jadeja when the all-rounder was on 17.
Jadeja also ended Shanto’s valiant resistance, finishing with three wickets for the innings.
All-round show
In the first innings, the spin combination Ashwin and Jadeja produced critical contributions with the bat, rescuing India from 144/6 with a 199-run seventh-wicket stand that helped set a competitive total.
Ashwin also went on to score a century in the first innings.
India declared their second innings at 287/4 on day three, thanks to hundreds from Shubman Gill (119 not out) and Rishabh Pant (109), who is playing his first Test since a car accident in December 2022. The pair scored 167 runs for the fourth wicket.
India’s bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, took the lead early, dismissing Bangladesh for 149 in their first innings.
The hosts will look to maintain their lead in the World Test Championship rankings as they begin a new 10-match Test season on a good note.
Bangladesh, fresh from a historic series win in Pakistan, is still looking for their first Test victory over India.
The Indian men’s selection committee has announced the same squad for the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.
India’s squad for the 2nd Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal
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