Hyderabad, Feb 11:
Indian bowlers faced dogged resistance from Bangladesh middle-order led by captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who hit a defiant 81 to take his team to 322 for six at stumps on day three of the one-off Test here today.
Premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s attacking 82 also contributed to Bangladesh’s fightback. At close of play, Rahim was ably supported by Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who was batting solidly batting on 51.
However, the visitors still trail India by 365 runs after the hosts declared at 687 for six yesterday.
Umesh Yadav (2/72 in 18 overs) was India’s best bowler on display but spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin (1/77 in 24 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/60 in 29 overs) didn’t look incisive despite being economical on a track that is still pretty good for batting. Ashwin infact was hit for 12 boundaries.
Ishant Sharma (1/54 in 16 overs) looked more effective with the old ball but he did inflict some pain to Mushfiqur with a snorter that had him in some pain. But the gritty Bangladesh skipper whipped the next for a boundary.
While India still have the upperhand with two full days of play, Bangladesh certainly would have gained confidence as they showed stomach for some fight in the last two sessions of the day after a poor morning.
The young Miraz showed maturity beyond his years to help his captain by playing risk free cricket, only hitting the loose deliveries en route a maiden Test half-century.
Mushfiqur hit 12 boundaries in 206 balls while Miraz hit 10 boundaries in 103 balls. The final session yielded 76 runs in 30 overs.
The seventh wicket partnership between Mushfiqur and Miraz yielded 87 runs in 32.5 overs but more importantly showed that there aren’t too many demons in the pitch.
The best part was their application in the final session. There was a point of time when Mushfiqur had scored only four runs in an hour in the post tea session. He was ready to put his head down and defend and with very less turn on offer, Ashwin never looked menacing.
Bangladesh still need 166 runs to avoid follow-on and on a fresh morning, a few quick wickets can mean that Virat Kohli would like to ensure follow on. But with his bowlers already sending down 104 overs, he might just want to give them rest and pile a few runs in the second innings.
The post lunch session was comparatively better for Bangladesh with 121 runs coming at the loss of two wickets. But India after getting Shakib and Shabbir Rahman in quick succession, looked in complete control before Mushfiqur and Mehedi resisted.
Shakib, who was instrumental in stemming the first session rot, went on the counter smashing his way to 82 off only 103 balls before his indiscretion landed the visitors in trouble.
Once Shakib was dismissed, the visitors quickly lost another wicket with Shabbir (16) being trapped leg before by Jadeja.
Well set and looking good for a century, Shakib couldn’t properly connect a lofted shot after giving Ashwin the charge with Umesh Yadav gleefully accepting the easiest of catches at mid-on.(PTI)
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