1st Test, Day 5: India beat Bangladesh by 188 runs, take 1-0 lead in two-match series

Chattogram, Dec. 18 (IANS): Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj took out the remaining four wickets as India took 50 minutes on day five to defeat Bangladesh by 188 runs in the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Sunday.

The win also means that India have taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, with KL Rahul getting his first win as a Test captain. Though Bangladesh fought hard to delay the inevitable, thanks to their skipper Shakib Al Hasan’s 84, others didn’t last long as they were bowled out for 324 in 113.2 overs.

For India, left-arm spinner Axar took four wickets in the fourth innings, while Kuldeep picked three scalps, followed by Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravichandran Ashwin taking a wicket each. The win also boosts India’s prospect of reaching a second successive World Test Championship final, going past Sri Lanka to be third in the table with 55.77 points percentage.

Resuming from 272/6, Mehidy Hasan Miraz began with a stylish cover drive off Mohammed Siraj for four, while Shakib slog-swept Axar for a six over deep square leg. Mehidy tried to go for a drive against Siraj on a slightly wide ball and ended up hitting straight to backward point.

Shakib got his fifty in aggressive fashion, dancing down the pitch and lofting over long-on for six off Axar. When Siraj tried to bounce him out, Shakib pulled him twice over long-on and fine leg for two fours and six respectively.

After dancing down the pitch to smack Axar over cow corner for six, Shakib swept hard against Kuldeep through mid-wicket. But on the last ball of the over, India finally ended Shakib’s blitzkrieg at 84 as Kuldeep got one to go past the attempted sweep and hit top of middle stump.

Kuldeep had another wicket when Ebadot Hossain flicked off leg-break straight to forward short leg, before Axar took out Taijul Islam’s off stump to seal the big win for India.

There were multiple heroes for India in the 188-run win, starting from fifties by Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer and Ashwin, along with Kuldeep’s 40 taking the first innings total to 404 after being 48/3 at one point.

Siraj burst through Bangladesh top-order in the first innings, while Kuldeep took a five-for to bowl them out for 150. With a massive 254-run lead, India chose not to follow-on and batted again, with Pujara and Shubman Gill notching up respective centuries to give Bangladesh a target of 513.

Chasing a mammoth total, Bangladesh’s openers had a 124-run stand with debutant Zakir Hasan registering his maiden Test century. But India’s bowlers, who had to toil hard on a slow-turning track which had some turn and bounce, fought back post lunch on day four to seal the victory.

Bangladesh and India will now play the second and final Test of the series from December 22-26 at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, in Mirpur, Dhaka.

Brief Scores: India 404 in 133.5 overs and 258/2 declared in 61.4 overs beat Bangladesh 150 in 55.5 overs and 324 in 113.2 overs (Zakir Hasan 100, Shakib Al Hasan 84; Axar Patel 4/77, Kuldeep Yadav 3/73) by 188 runs