Bangladesh bowled out for 149 in dismal collapse, India opt to bat again
Bangladesh’s batting line-up, crumbling in front of India's pacers, could only evoke disappointment.
To understand Bangladesh's first innings in the Chennai Test, simply look at their highest individual score: 32 runs, contributed by Shakib Al Hasan.
No other batsman managed to reach 30 runs. Four of the top five batsmen failed to reach double digits. The visitors' innings folded for a small total due to a dismal batting collapse.
In the first Test of the series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Bangladesh were bowled out for just 149 runs in their first innings. With a deficit of 227 runs, Najmul Hossain Shanto's team followed on. After surviving Hasan Mahmud's onslaught, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja led India to a first-innings total of 376. Despite their huge lead, India opted not to enforce the follow-on and came out to bat in their second innings.
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Bangladesh, in reply, struggled throughout their innings. No batsman could provide any stability. Liton Kumar Das, Shakib Al Hasan, and others built partnerships but further increased the disappointment with poor shot selections. India's pacer Jasprit Bumrah struck in the very first over, dismissing Shadman Islam. Shadman, leaving a beautiful delivery, saw his stumps shattered.
In the ninth over, debutant Indian pacer Akash Deep tightened the grip on Bangladesh by taking two wickets in two consecutive balls, dismissing Zakir Hasan and Mominul Haque. Bangladesh's first three batsmen were bowled out. Amidst the collapse, captain Shanto looked comfortable but couldn't extend his innings. Before edging to the wicketkeeper off Mohammad Siraj at the team score of 36, Shanto scored 20 runs.
Shortly after, Bumrah claimed his second victim, Mushfiqur Rahim. With Bangladesh reeling at 40 for 5, Shakib and Liton tried to stabilize the innings. They built a 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket, but both returned to the pavilion within two overs of each other. Liton, scoring 22 from 42 balls, was dismissed in the 29th over while attempting a sweep. Shakib, too, disappointed further, getting caught by Rishabh Pant while playing a reverse sweep after scoring 32 runs from 64 balls.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz fought on for a while with the tailenders, but couldn't carry on the fight alone. He remained unbeaten on 27 from 52 balls, including two fours and a six. Compared to other batsmen, Bangladesh's three pacers fared better with the bat. Hasan Mahmud scored 9, while Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana both added 11 runs. Bumrah claimed the most wickets, taking 4. Siraj, Akash, and Jadeja picked up two wickets each.
India were 17 for 1 after 4 overs in their second innings, with Rohit Sharma falling early for just 5. The Indian captain was caught in the slips by Zakir Hasan off Taskin Ahmed's bowling, giving Bangladesh a small breakthrough as India resumed batting.
