Tigers face uphill task to avert defeat
A struggling Mushfiq hits 5th ton
Syed Mohammed Pithu from Hyderabad
Bangladesh are on the knife-edge of suffering a big defeat in their one-off Test in Hyderabad with the Indian spinners getting a considerable amount of turn and bounce on an increasingly deteriorating wicket. Set a target of 459 to win the one-off Test at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Bangladesh were three down for 103 on the fourth day as Indian spin-pair, ranked No. 1 and 2 bowler of the world- Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja- shared the three wickets between them, sending an SOS to the rest of the batting line up in their bid to survive the whole fifth day.
For what its worth, Bangladesh have crossed 400-run mark in Test cricket only once against India, whereas no team has successfully chased a target in excess of 400 in India. And only twice in India visiting sides have batted more than the minimum of 125 overs, Bangladesh were asked to bat.
To their credit, Bangladesh forced India batting for the second time which the hosts probably didnt think after racking up a mammoth 687 for six, dec. in the first innings. Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim was responsible for that, hitting a stubborn 127, his back-to-back Test century.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyad were batting on 21 and 8 respectively at the close of the day four but none of them looked comfortable against the spin duo. Shakib was given out on 8 but he reviewed the decision successfully to overturn it. Yet his innings was as usual chancy as he dangerously danced down the wicket for several times to attack the spinners, justifying the quote given by him on day three that he wont change his batting style whatever the situation of the team is.
Ashwin was handed the new ball and made Bangladesh batsmen
shivering down the spin with his control and rhythm that eluded him in the first innings. He made the breakthrough with the wicket of Tamim Iqbal for 3, spinning one sharply to get his inside-edge. The umpire didnt convince about it but Kohli who took the catch at gully was adamant and reviewed it successfully.
Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque seemed to keep the side on course before Jadeja brought an end to the 60-run partnership between them forcing Sarkar edge one to slip on 42. Two overs later Ashwin induced Mominul on 27, leaving Bangladesh 75 for three.
With the luck and pluck, Shakib and Mahmudullah saw off the day, knowing that they still have long way to go had they want to save the Test. The morning session however belonged to Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim who after resuming the day on 81, guided the lower order in astute fashion to eat up considerable amount of time. India got the breakthrough in the first over of the morning session after Bangladesh resumed the day on 322 for six. Mehedi Hasan Miraj was deceived by the reverse-swing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar to be out on his overnight 51.
With the help of Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed who showed enormous patience, Mushfiqur Rahim got to his fifth and second century against India. Ashwin however ended Mushfiqurs resistance to achieve the feat of claiming 250 as the fastest bowler, eclipsing the previous record of Dennis Lillee.
Mushfiqur finally scored 127 off 262 with 16 fours and two sixes as Bangladesh were all out for 388 in 127.5 overs, 10 minutes before the lunch. Bangladesh still were 99 runs away to avoid the follow-on but considering the bowlers rest, Kohli didnt enforce it. This was the only the second time Bangladesh have lasted 100 overs against India after their maiden Test in 2000.
India then turned up the heat on Bangladesh, hammering 158 runs in the post lunch session. Cheteshwar Pujara scored almost a run-a-ball half-century, striking 6 boundaries and 1 six to provide India the impetus, while the others such as Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed after their respective rapid knocks. Pujara reached 54 off 58 balls, while Ravindra Jadeja was unbeaten on 10-ball 16 with a six and a four each. Taskin Ahmed and Shakib Al Hasan claimed two wickets each, but the Bangladesh failed to prevent Indian batsmen from scoring at nearly 6 an over.
