Need for speed: India push for victory with record-shattering batting to light up rain-hit Test

Records tumbled as India launched a batting blitz to overtake Bangladesh’s first innings total of 233 in 28 overs, injecting fresh life into the rain-marred second Test on Monday.

On a frenetic Day 4, Rohit Sharma’s men quickly bowled out Bangladesh and then unleashed batting mayhem at the Green Park Stadium scoring at a rate unprecedented in Test cricket.

India reached 50 runs in three overs, 100 in 10.1 and 200 in 24.2 — the fastest ever by a Test team — in their bid to force a result in a Test that has lost more than two days’ play to bad weather.

The hosts eventually declared at 285/9 and then reduced Bangladesh to 26/2 at stumps chasing victory in a match that seemed destined for a dull draw. Ravichandran Ashwin claimed the wickets of Zakir Hasan and Hasan Mahmud in his successive overs.

Shadman Islam was batting on seven at stumps while Mominul Haque was yet to open his account with Bangladesh still 26 behind.

Earlier, Mominul was left stranded on 107 not out as the bottom half of the Bangladesh order caved in easily after they resumed on the opening day’s score of 107/3. Mushfiqur Rahim (11) shoulder-armed to an incoming ball from Jasprit Bumrah (3/50) only to hear the sound of the ball crashing onto his stumps.

India’s superb catching led to the next two dismissals. Captain Rohit leapt at mid-off to grab a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Litton Das (13) and Mohammed Siraj plucked a tumbling, one-handed catch to remove Shakib Al Hasan. Mominul’s 13th Test hundred included 17 fours and a six.

It then rained fours and sixes when India came out to bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal (72) smashed Hasan Mahmud for three fours in a row in the first over to signal their intent. Rohit (23) at the other end dealt in sixes, hitting three of them in the first five deliveries he faced.

Spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz cut short Rohit’s stay but Jaiswal, ably supported by Shubman Gill (39) at the other end, raced to a 31-ball half-century.

Jaiswal, Gill and Rishabh Pant fell trying to sustain their breakneck batting but India did not take their foot off the pedal. KL Rahul (68) and Virat Kohli (47) maintained the tempo and even tailender Akash Deep smashed two sixes before Rohit declared the innings.

India are going for the kill as an outright victory will consolidate their top position in the World Test Championship table. Considering the tougher assignments ahead, especially the Australia Tour, India need to log as many wins as possible against comparatively easier rivals. India won the opening Test in Chennai comprehensively and a draw here would secure their 18th consecutive Test series victory on home soil.

Ready for action

Even after two full days of inaction due to inclement weather and wet outfield, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said his wards kept themselves ready for action.

“It’s never nice losing time and days. I knew the boys sitting around the hotel was sort of frustrating. But the way the guys went off the field, still doing their gym work, looking after their bodies, was impressive to see for me coming into the group,” Morkel said.

“We knew, once we get the opportunity, we’re always going to look at the positive way and how we can impact that. Throughout the day, we showed the intent that we’re going to play,” he added.

Morkel was not surprised at all to see Indian batters going all guns blazing in their first innings, considering the lost time.

“The way the boys went to the ball upfront, it was incredible to see. We created the pressure (with the ball) and brought wickets, and then to show the intent with the bat was awesome. It was always a part of our game plan to see how can we push this game forward and how can we get the winning result,” he said.

When their turn came to bowl again, India quickly reduced Bangladesh to 26/2 in the second innings. For Morkel, Test cricket is all about creating pressure.

“If you can do that for a long period, you’ll get results. I think there’s so much experience, these guys that can sum up the conditions very well, so they know what’s important in that moment. And then, it’s just a matter of executing it. You can have the best laid plans, but if you can’t execute it for a long period of time, you’re going to fall short. But this group so far has been on the money, great to see how we adapt to conditions.”

Scoreboard

Bangladesh 1st Innings

Z Hasan c Jaiswal b Akash 0

S Islam lbw b Akash 24

M Haque not out 107

NH Shanto lbw b Ashwin 31

M Rahim b Bumrah 11

L Das c Rohit b Siraj 13

Shakib c Siraj b Ashwin 9

MH Miraz c Gill b Bumrah 20

T Islam b Bumrah 5

H Mahmud lbw b Siraj 1

K Ahmed c & b Jadeja 0

Extras: (b 4, lb 6, nb 2) 12

Total: (all out, 74.2 overs) 233

FOW: 1-26, 2-29, 3-80, 4-112, 5-148, 6-170, 7-224, 8-230, 9-231

Bowling O M R W

Jasprit Bumrah 18 7 50 3

Mohammed Siraj 17 2 57 2

Ravichandran Ashwin 15 1 45 2

Akash Deep 15 6 43 2

Ravindra Jadeja 9.2 0 28 1

India 1st Innings

Y Jaiswal b Mahmud 72

R Sharma b Miraz 23

S Gill c Mahmud b Shakib 39

R Pant c Mahmud b Shakib 9

V Kohli b Shakib 47

KL Rahul st Das b Miraz 68

R Jadeja c Shanto b Miraz 8

R Ashwin b Shakib 1

A Deep c Ahmed b Miraz 12

J Bumrah not out 1

Extras: (b 3, nb 2) 5

Total: (9 wickets, 34.4 overs) 285d

FOW: 1-55, 2-127, 3-141, 4-159, 5-246, 6-269, 7-272, 8-284, 9-285

Bowling O M R W

Hasan Mahmud 6 0 66 1

Khaled Ahmed 4 0 43 0

Mehidy Hasan Miraz 6.4 0 41 4

Taijul Islam 7 0 54 0

Shakib Al Hasan 11 0 78 4

Bangladesh 2nd Innings

S Islam not out 7

Z Hasan lbw b Ashwin 10

H Mahmud b Ashwin 4

M Haque not out 0

Extras: (b 1, lb 4) 5

Total: (2 wickets, 11 overs) 26

FOW: 1-18, 2-26

Bowling O M R W

Jasprit Bumrah 3 1 3 0

Ravichandran Ashwin 5 2 14 2

Akash Deep 3 2 4 0