02 October,2024 07:33 AM IST | Kanpur | Santosh Suri
Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal
A new, aggressive Team India, led by a combative and wily Rohit Sharma, notched up one of their most noteworthy wins in Test cricket at Kanpur on Tuesday. More than the opponents, it was the paucity of time due to inclement weather that India had to race against over the last two days.
Bangladesh are no pushovers, having defeated Pakistan in Pakistan in a two-Test series before coming here. This series win is, thus, all the more creditable for India, their 16th on the trot at home.
There was no respite for Bangladesh as Rohit & Co did not take their foot off the paddle for even a moment on the final day. They kept up relentless pressure even when some of the Bangladesh batters were showing signs of resistance. Rohit handled his bowling resources well to unsettle the opponents, invariably leading to a wicket time and again. Having taken two wickets before the close on the penultimate day, India cleaned up the remaining eight in an extended pre-lunch session and notched up the 95 runs for victory inside 18 overs, winning by seven wickets. They thus remain atop the World Test Championship (WTC) rankings as they now await the arrival of New Zealand for a three-Test series later this month.
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It was indeed a great team effort as there were contributions from almost every Indian player, be it in the batting or bowling department. Their fielding was superlative too, having pocketed some outstanding catches in the match. Jasprit Bumrah as usual spearheaded the attack, bagging three wickets each in both innings. He was well supported by the experienced spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin - named Man of the Series for the 11th time in his Test career - and Ravindra Jadeja.
Though Rohit did not flourish with the bat in the series, he more than made up for it with the way he led the team, especially by going for glory despite eight of the nine sessions being washed out here in Kanpur. With only six sessions left, most captains would've just played out the time. However, not for a moment did Rohit consider the match dead, and went all-out to subdue the visitors across a mere four-and-a half sessions on the last two days.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is clean bowled by Ravindra Jadeja yesterday. PicGetty Images
On the final day, India needed to see the back of first-innings centurion Mominul Haque as soon as possible. For that, they laid a trap by keeping a leg slip given he has the tendency to sweep the spinners. Mominul fell for it and was caught by KL Rahul off Ashwin. That was the start India were seeking. Thereafter, Shadman Islam and Najmul Hossain Shanto put up a solid resistance to keep the Indian bowlers at bay. However, once Shanto fell to a beautiful delivery from Jadeja, things quickly went downhill for Bangladesh. From 91-3, they collapsed to 94-7 and were eventually bowled out for 146. Jadeja triggered the collapse after which Bumrah did the clean-up act. In pursuit of the winning target of 95, Yashasvi Jaiswal picked up from where he left off in the first innings and kept finding boundaries at will. In trying to go for a winning shot however, he fell on 51, but had done the job for his team by then. Virat Kohli also had a decent time at the wicket and seems to be getting into the rhythm for the important assignments ahead, the most important being the five-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia later this year. Another plus for India was the return of Rishabh Pant to Test cricket, and his batting form and wicketkeeping augur well both for him as well as Team India.
Also Read: India strengthen WTC final hopes after Bangladesh series sweep
Also, the aggressive manner in which Rahul batted in the first innings was heartening and would have given him loads of confidence after he failed to find a spot in the team for the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. His presence during the Australian tour will be vital. Before that though, he will have to show his form against the New Zealanders in the upcoming series. Things are looking good for Team India in Test cricket, but they cannot get complacent in their remaining eight Tests in the run-up to the all-important WTC final at Lord's from June 11.
312
No. of balls India batted in this Test, the fourth fewest in men's Tests in a winning cause
11
Player of the Series awards won by Ashwin in Tests, joint-highest with Muttiah Muralitharan
Brief scores
B'desh 233 & 146 (S Islam 50, M Rahim 37; J Bumrah 3-17, R Ashwin 3-50, R Jadeja 3-34) lost to India 285-9d & 98-3 (Y Jaiswal 51, V Kohli 29'; M Miraz 2-44) by seven
