Total Eclipse

Bangla fall well before sunset, India win 12th home series in a row

Kolkata, November 24

The pink ball was not able to reduce the massive gulf between the two teams as India bulldozed Bangladesh by an innings and 46 runs in their first ever Day/Night Test to record their 12th home series win in a row.

Resuming their second innings at 152/6 on Day 3, Bangladesh lasted only 47 minutes and less than nine overs today. India became the first team ever to record four consecutive wins by an innings.

Barring Mushfiqur Rahim (74), Bangladesh batsmen were once again found wanting against high-quality pace bowling, folding up for 195 in 41.1 overs. They were bowled out for 106 in their first innings. For the second time in the series, India won well inside three days. India had hammered Bangladesh by an innings and 130 runs in the series-opener in Indore.

With the resounding win, India also cemented their top position in the World Test Championship by collecting 120 points from the two-match series, taking their overall tally to 360. Second-placed Australia have 116 points.

“Only your belief can make you win. With the way these guys (pacers) are bowling now, they can pick up wickets anywhere. Even the spinners,” said captain Virat Kohli later, adding: “These guys are very hungry and I feel we are in the right kind of space and everyone is enjoying playing in this team.”

Aggressive

Resuming on 59 today, Mushfiqur batted in aggressive fashion, smashing Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja for two boundaries each in their respective overs. Umesh Yadav brought an end to Mushfiqur’s innings when the batsman mistimed a lofted shot, Ravindra Jadeja easily taking the catch. Mushfiqur’s valiant innings included 16 boundaries.

Mahmudullah, who had retired hurt on 39 yesterday, did not come out to bat and India sealed the victory in style when Yadav (5/53) had Al-Amin Hossain caught-behind.

Ishant looked unplayable with his inswing and the quick legcutters, ending up with a match haul of 9/78, including 4/56 in the second innings. Yadav finished with a match haul of 8/81. Mohammed Shami picked up only two wickets in the Test, though he was at his intimidating best when taking 2/36 in the first innings. For the first time in an Indian Test match win at home, no wicket was taken by a home spinner.

An evidence of the menacing form of the pacers was that four Bangladesh batsmen received heavy blows and the team was forced to use two concussions substitutes. The frequent hits on the helmet also raised questions over the visibility of the pink ball, especially in the period when the sun set and the floodlights took over.

The game will also be remembered for Virat Kohli’s 27th Test ton, extending his overall tally to 70 international hundreds. — PTI

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Pink of health

Kolkata: Eden Gardens played the perfect host for the historic game, with packed crowds on all three days bringing back memories of the times when Test cricket was extremely popular. However, the hype surrounding the game was not matched by the action because Bangladesh could not put up a good fight.

The pink ball made by SG — or Sanspareils Greenlands, the sports goods company — had not been tested in a competitive game before the big match. As expected, it assisted India’s lethal pace attack.

The BCCI, led by its president Sourav Ganguly, pulled out all the stops to make the game a memorable affair and they succeeded in doing so. It took India four years and a new board president in Ganguly to shed their reluctance to play a pink-ball Test.

But the on-field action lasted just 968 balls, making it the shortest completed match in the country. India’s earlier quickest victory in terms of deliveries was against Afghanistan last year at Bengaluru, when the match lasted only 1028 balls. — PTI