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

Innings Bangladesh 233 (Mominul 107*, Bumrah 3-50, Akash Deep 2-43, Ashwin 2-45) vs. India

Mehidy Hasan Miraz hit three fours in the space of seven balls against Bumrah – two of which were within the given range. But Bumrah got his revenge when he got one to go behind long on and made it to seam. Mehidy was forced to play on it and rolled to slip. In his next over, Bumrah hit Taijul Islam with pace and Siraj did it to Hasan Mahmud to trap him lbw.

When Jadeja took out the last batter to reach his bowling, Bangladesh lost 7 for 126 to let go of any good they had hoped to gain.

The morning session was all about the tussle between the defiant Mominul and the Indian bowlers. Play resumed two days after the rain failed and India batted three times in extended morning time.

With the sun shining after consecutive days of overcast weather, the extension showed signs of better bearing, but the natural nature of the black soil meant that few deliveries ended up being very low. Akash Deep and Bumrah started the day by hitting the ground at long lengths – with varying degrees of pitch – and tested the patience of Mominul and Mushfiqur Rahim. Four of the first five overs of the day were maidens, with the one run scored coming from the inside edge of Mushfiqur.

Bumrah then gets the in-ducker to bounce a bit more and again takes an edge off Mushfiqur, but this time it goes past leg stump for the first of the day. It stayed about a good length out, closed and, like each spread, deviated 2cms from the batter. The next ball, Bumrah weaved his magic, pitched the ball in the same spot and made it go deep – 6cms in each radius. Mushfiqur decided to leave it based on how the previous delivery had behaved, but was surprised after the ball clipped the stumps to end his stay.

Litton’s audacity, however, ultimately cost him when he charged a length ball from Siraj and flicked it around mid-off, when Rohit timed his jump perfectly to scoop the one-hander. Shakib’s stay in the middle lasted 17 balls, trying to use his feet against R Ashwin seemed to destroy him. He would have escaped, had it not been for Siraj retreating mid-game and holding on to a one-handed grip while falling backwards.

Jadeja was introduced in the 12th over of the day but was not allowed to settle. Mominul was happy to try and sweep him as often as possible, and used his feet well to lift him up into the nineties. Then he got a couple of lives, first when Rishabh Pant failed to hold on to low ball on 93, and then 95 later when Virat Kohli dropped him after diving to the left from wide first slip.

Fittingly, it was the sweep that helped Mominul to 13 Tests, his first since June 2023, and his second away from home. He scored a lot of runs made by Bangladesh on this day but was left alone in the end.