Agencies
NEW DELHI, June 13
Rain washed out the entire second session to leave Bangladesh stranded on 111/3 in their first innings as early tea was taken on the fourth day of the one-off Test against India at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah on Saturday.
30.1 overs were bowled in the first session of the day that started thirty minutes early to make up for the lost overs. Imrul Kayes (59) and Shakib Al Hasan (0) were at the crease when play was stopped due to rain and early lunch was taken.
The fourth day’s proceedings started with India declaring their first innings at the overnight score of 462/6.
Ishant Sharma opened the bowling for India but with two more pacers in their ranks, it was Ravichandran Ashwin, who bowled the second over.
When he reached the score of 7 in the third over, Tamim Iqbal became the highest run-getter for Bangladesh going past Habibul Bashar.But Ashwin justified Virat Kohli’s faith and had Iqbal stumped in his third over. Ashwin bowled a flighted delivery that dipped on Iqbal’s drive, the ball turned away past the edge and Wriddhiman Saha whipped the bails off in a flash. Iqbal stretched his back foot out but the replays showed that it was on the line and the third umpire ruled him out.
Kayes was dropped by Shikhar Dhawan when he was on 10. Umesh Yadav squared up Kayes with a short delivery, the ball took the outside edge, went to the left of Dhawan at a widish second slip who spilled it despite getting both hands to it.
Bangladesh were 55/1 in 12.4 overs with Kayes (20) and Mominul Haque (16) at the crease when play was stopped due to rain but it was just a 13-minute delay.
Harbhajan Singh, playing his first Test after two years, was brought in the attack after 17 overs with Bangladesh at 76/1, but he was hit for a four by Kayes on the last delivery of his first over. Kayes reached his third half-century off 75 balls, lofting a Harbhajan delivery over mid-off.
Kayes and Haque batted at a decent pace to bring up the 100 for Bangladesh in the 24th over even as Kohli tried all his combinations without much result.
While Ashwin turned the ball more than Harbhajan, it was the ‘Turbanator’ who got India the second breakthrough when he had Haque caught by Umesh Yadav at mid-off. Haque came down the pitch to a flighted delivery, didn’t get to the pitch of it but still went for it, went off the toe end and Yadav judged the skier to perfection. Haque failed to join AB de Villiers for 12 consecutive fifty-plus scores in Tests.
Ashwin then struck in the next over when he had Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim caught by Rohit Sharma at leg gully. Ashwin bowled a classic off-spinning delivery that turned in and dipped on Rahim who came forward to defend, the thin inside edge went onto the pads and straight into the hands of Sharma.
After 34 overs were lost on Day One and no play was possible on Day Two, action began early on the third day under a bright morning sun. After India’s famed middle-order disgraced itself on a sluggish pitch, the rains returned to play havoc after lunch.
The second session not only got off to a delayed start, but also saw two more rain-induced stoppages before the umpires called it a day at 3.40pm IST with just 47.3 overs bowled. India, resuming on 239/0, added another 223 runs, losing their top six in the process. The team tally read 462/6 in 100.3 overs with R Ashwin (2) and Harbhajan (7) at the crease.
