India rode on local lad Ravichandran Ashwin’s all-round brilliance to thrash Bangladesh by 280 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series after the premier off-spinner completed a fourth double of a hundred alongside a five-wicket haul and the second successive in Chennai, on the fourth morning of the opening Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.
Ashwin ended with match-winning bowling figures of 6/88, and with that performance he has also now equalled Shane Warne’s record of 37 five-wicket hauls, behind only Muttiah Muralitharan’s 67.
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Ashwin along with his almost inseparable spin twin Ravindra Jadeja strangulated the Bangladeshi line-up that began the day promisingly with the overnight pair of skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan successfully defying the Indian bowlers and adding 36 runs in the first hour of play.
The pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah started the proceedings for India, and kept the two Bangladeshi batters on their toes until the drinks break. Just after the breather, Rohit Sharma employed his spin twins — Ashwin and Jadeja — to break the deadlock, and the Chennai boy delivered in his first over with the wicket of Shakib, who played down the wrong line only to find Yashasvi Jaiswal latching on to a sharp catch at short leg.
Jadeja’s quick pace and turn soon drew an edge from Litton Das for an easier catch at first slip. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who had impressed during the Pakistan tour with his lower-order resistance, miscued a hoick that Jadeja caught at long-on for Ashwin to complete his five-wicket haul.
At the other end, Shanto, who had by then reached 82 off 127 balls, managed to keep the Indian bowlers at bay but with regular fall of wickets, he decided to launch a counterattack, but was instead outfoxed by the willy Jadeja with a wide ball that drew a wicket-taking thick edge. The
tailenders — Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud — could hardly offer any resistance and were eventually shot out for 234 merely 20 minutes before the lunch break.
For India, the trend of Ashwin and Jadeja (3/58) sharing the bulk of the second innings wickets — this time nine, continued, but this game will always be cherished for the 199-run stand that the duo shared in the first innings to pull India out of a troubled 144/6.
Reflecting on the result, India captain Rohit Sharma said, “It was a great result looking what lies ahead. Playing after a while but you are in touch with the game. Need to be working as a group, had a good lead-up and got the win.”
The skipper also was effusive in his praise for his premier off-spinner Ashwin, saying, “He’s always there for us over the years. I don’t know if I speak here it’ll be enough to cover what he does for the team. He looks like he’s never out of the game. He played IPL, had some fun in the TNPL. He batted up the order and that helped.”
India 376 (Ashwin 113, Jadeja 86, Mahmud 5-83) and 287 for 4 dec (Gill 119*, Pant 109, Mehidy 2-103) beat Bangladesh 149 (Shakib 32, Bumrah 4-50, Jadeja 2-19) and 234 (Shanto 82, Ashwin 6-88, Jadeja 3-58) by 280 runs
India retain same squad for second Test
After the win in Chennai, India confirmed that the same 16-man squad would be retained for the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur. The game begins on September 27. The squad members that didn’t play a part in the first Test were Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Yash Dayal.
