New Delhi: Cheteshwar Pujara and Shreyas Iyer took India to 278/6 on day 1 of the first Test between India and Bangladesh. The hosts were in control after a collapse earlier in the day when Rishabh Pant counter-attacked and Pujara and Iyer built a partnership to take India to a recovery. With 90 runs by Pujara and 82* by Iyer, the batters showed class on a spin-friendly pitch.
With a few outside edges and drop catches, India landed in a comfortable position after choosing to bat first. The pitch looked comfortable to bat on and while there was a bit of grass, the track aided spinners. After a 41-run opening stand between captain KL Rahul and Shubman Gill, Bangladesh was able to recover with three quick wickets, out of which Gill and Virat Kohli were dismissed by Taijul Islam.
Rishabh Pant did what he does best. He put the bowlers under pressure and kept the scoreboard ticking. Pant scored 46 off 45 before getting out to the man in-form Mehidy Hasan Miraz, but he did his job with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Pujara found some outside edges and got a life again with a dropped catch, but he continued his form from the County and the India A games. He stood for over 200 balls but fell 10 runs short of a century as Taijul Islam spun his way through.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz dismissed Axar Patel for 14 runs just before the stumps. While India has put some runs on the board, it looks like a good track to bat on and the visitors will need over 350 to put Bangladesh under pressure.
Looking at the wicket, both teams have played three spinners each. Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are India’s spin attack while Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj fill in two spots for the pacers. Bangladesh has played Shakib Al Hasan, Miraz and Taijul as their spinners with Ebadot Hussain leading the pace attack in absence of Taskin Ahmed.
