Akash strikes twice before skies open!

Akash Deep (fifth from left) celebrates the dismissal of Bangladesh’s Shadman Islam with teammates yesterday. Pics/AFP

As feared, a heavy downpour played spoilsport on Day One of the second Test between India and Bangladesh at Green Park. An early morning shower delayed the start of the match by an hour and then, in the afternoon, a 30-minute deluge was enough for the day to be called off well before the tea interval. Only 35 overs were bowled, with India picking three wickets and Bangladesh scoring 107 runs. Neither team can claim to have dominated the day.

Two factors were debated hotly after the toss that was delayed by an hour. The first was skipper Rohit Sharma's decision to bowl after winning the toss, a rare occurrence for the home team. The second was the decision to not include local lad Kuldeep Yadav in the XI. An unchanged side saw India stick to the combination of three pacers and two spinners used in Chennai. Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar had said at a pre-match interaction that conditions would determine the playing XI and so it proved. The think-tank felt that playing three seamers and bowling first was the right way forward.

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Groundsmen cover the field as rain stops play in Kanpur

But bowling first is always fraught with the risk of having to bat on a deteriorating pitch on the fourth and fifth days in India. That is what Bangladesh learned to their dismay when they bowled first in Chennai and lost the match by a huge margin. Having learned their lesson, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said at the toss that Bangladesh would have batted first had they won the toss and included three spinners and only two pacers in the XI.

Kuldeep's coach unhappy

The local fans were not happy when they realised that Kuldeep was not playing this match. Kuldeep's coach Kapil Dev Pandey was disappointed to not see his ward on the field. He felt whatever the conditions, Kuldeep ought to have got a chance. "This is not a one-day game. It is a long-drawn five-day affair and a cloud cover on the first day should not determine the strategy for the whole match. Kuldeep would have been very effective on this pitch in the latter phase of the match," he said.

In the overcast conditions, India would have expected their seamers to make early inroads to put the rivals on the back foot. But wickets did not come that easy. It was a fine bowling effort by Akash Deep that got India the wickets of openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam. Zakir got a 24-ball duck while Islam was a bit more adventurous, getting 24 off 36 balls before falling leg before to Deep. Deep deserved both wickets as he generated a lot more pace and bounce from the pitch than Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Rohit gave the duo only seven overs apiece before introducing off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as early as the eighth over. And things only started to happen once Deep came in to bowl and promptly accounted for Zakir.

Ashwin sends back Shanto

It was Ashwin who sent Shanto back just when the Bangladesh skipper seemed to have got in the groove. His dismissal was a big setback for them. All the while, Mominul Haque batted with determination and was at the crease with 40 (81 balls). At the other end was veteran Mushfiqur Rahim on six when rain forced the players into the pavilion, never to come out. By late evening, dark clouds were still hovering over the stadium with an omnipresent threat of rain. It needs to be seen if play will resume as per schedule on Day Two.