India scripted a sensational seven-wicket win over Bangladesh to sweep the series 2-0 on day five of the second Test at the Green Park Stadium on Tuesday.
The 180th Test victory might not have been the most difficult in terms of the challenge India faced from its opponent.
Depth
However, the manner in which Rohit Sharma’s men salvaged a result in less than two days of action showed the depth of the squad and its ability to be in an all-out attack mode throughout the game.
The batters laid the path on the fourth day, quickly surpassing Bangladesh’s first innings total of 233 by scoring at a rate of knots to earn themselves time to take 10 wickets again.
On the final day, India’s bowlers did their bit in bundling out the visitor in one session to help set up a paltry target of 95.
Bangladesh, resuming at 26 for two in its second essay, did not start well as R. Ashwin removed first-innings centurion Mominul Haque, caught at leg-slip while going for a sweep.
Useful stand
Shadman Islam (50) and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, though, steadied things, stitching a 55-run stand for the fourth wicket over the next hour.
In pursuit of wickets, the home team was aggressive, having four to five fielders in catching positions at all times.
Shadman capitalised on this by finding the fence regularly.
The left-handed batter confidently drove Ashwin through the covers and then hit Mohammed Siraj twice through the square on the off-side en route his half-century.
Just when it looked like the Tigers would make India toil a bit, Najmul’s ill-fated attempt to reverse-sweep Ravindra Jadeja saw him lose his leg-stump.
It was the opening the Indian team was searching for. At the other end, Akash Deep removed the well-set Shadman, who hung his bat away from his body and edged it to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully.
Later, Jadeja had Litton Das caught behind before removing Shakib Al Hasan, who offered a simple return catch to the left-arm spinner.
In the space of five overs, Bangladesh slumped from 91 for three to 94 for seven, and at that point, the writing was pretty much on the wall. The experienced Mushfiqur Rahim delayed the inevitable, scoring a patient 37, but Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up the last three wickets and bundled out Bangladesh for 146 at the stroke of lunch.
Jaiswal (51), as he did in the first innings, hit top gear from the word go, swatting Shakib for a couple of boundaries.
The southpaw then unleashed his full range of strokes, sweeping, reverse-sweeping and stepping down against the spinners to score his second half-century of the match.
The crowd did not mind their team losing two wickets either, for it brought Virat Kohli into the middle.
The star batter gave the fans their money’s worth as he smoked four hits to the ropes and guided his side to an 18th consecutive series triumph on home soil.
The victory also boosted India’s chance of reaching the World Test Championship final for a third consecutive time.
Published - October 01, 2024 01:04 pm IST
