Bangladesh’s maiden day of Test cricket on Indian soil turned out to be a harrowing experience for them with the hosts making merry on a delicious batting surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. They only had themselves to blame as inconsistent bowling coupled with shoddy fielding, that had crept in from their previous series in New Zealand, made it a day to forget for the Bangla Tigers.
One such poor piece of fielding could have prevented India from notching up sizeable partnerships. Opener Murali Vijay was the one who got a reprieve this time around. He was batting on 35 and India were looking to recover from the early wicket of KL Rahul.
Watch Mehedi Hasan‘s costly run-out miss here
Despite winning the toss, India did not get off to a good start with Rahul’s lazy footwork leaving them at 2/1 in the very first over. Cheteshwar Pujara walked into the middle to join Vijay, and as they have often done, the duo began to build another substantial stand and wrestle back the hold of the game.
At 67/1 in the 19th over, both batsmen appeared to be well-set. But then, their typically indecisive running between the wickets offered a golden opportunity for Bangladesh. Vijay gently stroked a good length delivery from Mehedi Hasan towards the square leg fielder. Unbeknownst to him, Pujara was quick off the paces in his eagerness to steal a single.
Even though he did seem to be too interested to respond to his partner’s call, the Tamil Nadu batsman had no choice but to get to the other end as the non-striker was already going past him.
After diving smartly to stop the ball, seamer Kamrul Islam Rabbi threw it on the half-volley to the bowler’s end. Despite getting himself into the right position, Mehedi could not collect the throw cleanly. Taking full advantage of the fielding mishap, Vijay hared back swiftly to complete the run. Though both batsmen found themselves at the same end for a fleeting moment, Bangladesh had thrown away the opportunity to send back the opener on 35.hared back swiftly to complete the run. Though both batsmen found themselves at the same end for a fleeting moment, Bangladesh had thrown away the opportunity to send back the opener on 35.
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Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim did not make any effort to hide his displeasure at the fielding mishap. Vijay proceeded to make them pay by registering his ninth Test hundred. More importantly, his partnership with Pujara went from strength to strength to take India to 180. Mehedi finally broke the stand by dismissing the Saurashtra batsman on 83.
However, the damage had already been done and the platform was set for the home team’s skipper to take centre stage. Virat Kohli aggravated their woes by smashing an unbeaten 141-ball 111. Upon putting on 54 runs with his captain, Vijay perished while attempting an extravagant sweep shot. But, he had scored a 160-ball 108 to allow India to set their sights on a formidable first-innings total. Ajinkya Rahane got in on the act and added 122 more runs centre stage.
Virat Kohli aggravated their woes by smashing an unbeaten 141-ball 111. Upon putting on 54 runs with his captain, Vijay perished while attempting an extravagant sweep shot. But, he had scored a 160-ball 108 to allow India to set their sights on a formidable first-innings total. Ajinkya Rahane got in on the act and added 122 more runs to take the score to 356/3.
At the end of the day’s play, Vijay said, “Actually, everything went my way. I felt really good about myself before coming into the game. (I) just wanted to continue playing the way (like) I did in the last series (against England). Myself and Pujara just stuck to the basics, getting singles when possible. I really like batting with him, it's a comfort factor (and) he has a solid game.”
Their unconvincing running between the wickets notwithstanding, Pujara and Vijay have been more consistent (average-wise) in tandem than any other batting pair in Indian Test history.
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On his lucky escape, Vijay insisted, “We just keep our game plans simple (and) don't try too many things. And we speak to each other very well and things happen when we bat together like that run-out chance. (The issue of running between the wickets) We've been speaking about it and hopefully in the coming series we'll do better.”
With Kohli still going strong and Rahane getting back into the groove, Bangladesh have their task cut out when the second day begins. Even though cricket does not offer a linear method of prediction, things could have panned out quite differently for the visitors had they grabbed the run-out opportunity with both hands.
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