Sabbir Rahman and Shikhar Dhawan stood out with contrasting centuries on the opening day of the first-class fixture between India ‘A’ and Bangladesh ‘A’ here on Sunday.
Rahman’s gritty unbeaten 122 came in the face of a crisis, while Dhawan (116 batting, 112b, 16x4, 2x6) batted with gay abandon.
Opting to field, India ‘A’ bowled Bangladesh ‘A’ out for 228. The home side then reached 161 for one, on the back of Dhawan’s heroics.
The morning session belonged to the Indian bowlers, who reduced the visitors to 6 for four.
Varun Aaron struck with his very first ball, getting Soumya Sarkar to nick one to wicketkeeper Naman Ojha. Captain Mominul Haque edged a wide delivery to give Aaron his second, and then Liton Das popped a length ball to mid-on.
At the other end, Ishwar Pandey accounted for Anamul Haque. Nasir Hossain looked jittery in his 28-ball 32, and his dismissal brought Rahman and Shuvagata Hom together.
In an effort which displayed the grit and patience that the Bangladesh ‘A’ top-order sorely lacked, Rahman went about constructing his innings in measured fashion. His fifty came off 76 balls, and in the company of Hom, dragged the innings back on track.
Their sixth-wicket partnership yielded a crucial 132 runs, and was broken when Hom fell to Aaron.
The fast bowler — four for 45 in 11 overs — impressed with his pace and carry.
Rahman carried on, bringing up his century off 115 balls. From there, he laid into the Indian bowlers to move the score along at a rapid rate.
The last four batsmen, however, fell in quick succession to off-spinner Jayant Yadav.
Dhawan then took centrestage. Three flowing drives off Rubel Hossain early in his stay was a sign of things to come. Any questions surrounding his fitness — this is Dhawan’s first match since he suffered a hand injury in Sri Lanka last month — were set aside as he dismantled the bowling.
The Delhi opener swivelled in the crease to pull spinners to fine-leg, used the reverse sweep frequently, and took the aerial route as well. Fielders were pushed back to stem the flow of runs, but Dhawan was unrelenting. The India ‘A’ skipper brought up his century off just 98 balls, with a typical punch past mid-off.
Meanwhile, his partner Abhinav Mukund moved to a sedate 78-ball 34, before a sharp off-break from Hom beat the bat and hit the stumps. Play was called off a short while later due to bad light, and the Bangladeshis were only too happy to put off the Dhawan assault to another day.
The scores:
Bangladesh ‘A’ — 1st innings: Anamul Haque c Ojha b Pandey 0 ( 11b ), Soumya Sarkar c Ojha b Aaron 0 ( 1b ), Mominul Haque c Ojha b Aaron 2 ( 5b ), Liton Das c Aparajith b Aaron 0 ( 9b ), Sabbir Rahman (not out) 122 ( 131b, 23x4, 1x6 ), Nasir Hossain c Ojha b Mithun 32 ( 28b, 7x4 ), Shuvagata Hom c Karun b Aaron 62 ( 95b, 9x4, 1x6 ), Saqlain Sajib lbw b Jayant 4 ( 28b ), Shafiul Islam b Jayant 0 ( 4b ), Rubel Hossain b Jayant 0 ( 1b ), Jubair Hossain lbw b Jayant 0 ( 3b ); Extras (lb-5, nb-1): 6; Total (in 52.5 overs): 228.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-2, 4-6, 5-50, 6-182, 7-220, 8-220, 9-228.
India ‘A’ bowling: Ishwar Pandey 11-2-48-1, Varun Aaron 11-1-45-4, Abhimanyu Mithun 11-2-51-1, Ravindra Jadeja 9-0-35-0, Jayant Yadav 7.5-3-28-4, Vijay Shankar 3-1-16-0.
India ‘A’ — 1st innings: Abhinav Mukund b Hom 34 (78b, 4x4), Shikhar Dhawan (batting) 116 ( 112b, 16x4, 2x6 ), Shreyas Iyer (batting) 6 ( 9b, 1x4 ); Extras (b-4, nb-1): 5; Total (for one wicket in 33 overs): 161.
Fall of wicket: 1-153.
Bangladesh ‘A’ bowling: Shafiul Islam 3-1-10-0, Rubel Hossain 2.5-1-16-0, Soumya Sarkar 0.1-0-0-0, Shuvagata Hom 9-2-37-1, Saqlain Sajib 8-0-45-0, Jubair Hossain 4-0-35-0, Nasir Hossain 6-1-14-0.
