India’s dominance in the first Test against Bangladesh continued on Day 2 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, with the hosts taking complete control after a blistering bowling performance. While the top-order’s indiscretions on Day 1 had put pressure on Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to salvage the situation, it was Jasprit Bumrah and his pace attack that took center stage on Friday.
After India added 37 runs to their overnight score and Ashwin walked off to a standing ovation, Bangladesh was thrown back into the cauldron as Bumrah and Akash Deep unleashed their fury. Shadman Islam was the first to fall prey to Bumrah’s cunning, his off-stump rattled after being lured into an away-swinger on leg-stump. While Zakir Hasan received a lifeline when Rishabh Pant advised against reviewing a leg-before appeal, Deep displayed his penchant for early wickets, claiming the wickets of Hasan and Mominul Haque in consecutive deliveries.
With the top-order in ruins, the Indian seamers kept the pressure on, constantly targeting the middle-order with accurate line and length. Mohammed Siraj, who had been denied a wicket earlier, finally got his reward as Najmul Hossain Shanto edged a ball that was leaving him. Bumrah returned to the attack, shaping the ball away late to square up Mushfiqur Rahim and find an alert KL Rahul in the slip cordon.
As Bangladesh seemed to be settling into a rearguard action, Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan fell to reckless shots, a top edge off a sweep and a bottom edge off a reverse-sweep, respectively. These were the only wickets to fall to India’s spinners, who bowled 21 overs with Ashwin remaining wicketless. Bumrah and Siraj completed the clean-up job, with the former playfully tormenting the tail before dismissing Taskin Ahmed with a fiendish yorker.
Earlier in the day, Jadeja couldn’t add to his overnight score and edged a delivery behind after tentatively poking in the channel. Deep, meanwhile, provided a reminder of his explosive hitting abilities, pouncing on any width outside off-stump and striking four boundaries in quick time.
Ashwin and Deep both fell trying to accelerate the scoring rate, but Hasan Mahmud, who had already claimed five wickets, fittingly dismissed Bumrah to register the best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi in Tests on Indian soil. The visiting pacers also had their moments of success, with Taskin and Nahid Rana taking wickets early on. However, Virat Kohli, who reached the milestone of 12,000 international runs at home, fell victim to Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s spin, trapped LBW despite a faint nick.
With a total of 17 wickets falling on Day 2, and India holding a commanding lead of 308 runs, the contest appears to be heading towards a swift conclusion. India will be looking to wrap up the match quickly and secure a series win.
