IND vs BDESH 2024/25, IND vs BAN 2nd Evaluation Evaluation Report, September 27 – October 01, 2024

Lunch Bangladesh 74 for 2 (Shanto 28*, Mominul 17*, Deep 2-14) vs India

On the last one before halftime, the buzz started, and when the teams went back, the ground crew quickly brought in the covers.

Rohit Sharma expected his three seamers to capitalize on the changing conditions as India remained unchanged after an initial delay due to overnight rain. Jasprit Bumrah got the ball to go both ways and threw three maidens with which he started but did not hit. Mohammed Siraj was also unsuccessful at the other end as Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan survived the opener. In fact, Zakir could not open his account even though he was facing 20 balls at that time.

Things changed when Akash Deep was introduced in the ninth over. With his third ball, he got Zakir to walk to him and flicked one down the right gully where Yashasvi Jaiswal caught the ball with both hands inches above the ground. Discussed with the TV referee about the fairness of the catch. He had one clear angle but it was enough for him that the ball went straight into Jaiswal’s hands.

After a few overs, Akash Deep struck again. Continuing around the wicket, he got one that hit Shadman’s inside edge and hit him on the pad. The on-field umpire dismissed a major lbw appeal – it looked as if the ball, at best, would have clipped leg stump. India opted for a review and to everyone’s surprise, the guesswork showed the ball hitting a good portion of the leg stump.

Shanto came out with a good mindset and picked up a couple of boundaries on the off side of the bat. Mominul, too, grew in confidence as the innings progressed. He bowled Akash Deep and Siraj for four each before driving Bumrah to covers. That took the pressure off Bangladesh but they will know it is just the beginning.

Earlier, the toss was delayed by an hour due to the wet pitch. When the coin reached India, Rohit decided to throw it down in the cloudy sky. It was the first time since 2015 that India chose to bowl in Tests at home. The last time a team chose to bowl at Green Park was in 1964, when India played England.

Rohit said the pitch was softer and had more grass than Kanpur is used to. Bangladesh studied the situation differently; they not only wanted to bat first but also picked three spinners by bringing in Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam for Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed.