In Short
- India defeat Bangladesh to extend Test series-winning streak at home
- Rohit Sharma’s men forced a result despite two days of rain washout
- The Kanpur win solidified India’s top spot in World Test Championship standings
Young run-machine Yashasvi Jaiswal hit another fifty while comeback man Rishabh Pant scored the winning runs on a sunny afternoon in Kanpur as fearless India defied both wet weather and time constraints to hand Bangladesh a series whitewash after winning the second Test. The Gautam Gambhir era began with a 2–0 series win as India knocked off the 95-run target in the post-lunch session to secure a 7-wicket win over the visitors.
Bangladesh entered the series riding high from a historic 2-0 win in Pakistan, but they now return home deflated and demoralized. The carnage that unfolded on the field was beyond their expectations. With this weather-defying win, Rohit Sharma’s India solidified their pole position in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings with an eye on a third successive Test Championship final.
India vs Bangladesh Live Score, 2nd Test Day 5: India could very well register one of their greatest wins of all time while Bangladesh would need to put up a monumental resistance to save this Test. It means that we are in for what could be one of the most extraordinary finishes ever in a Test match.
India vs Bangladesh Live Score, 2nd Test Day 5: The first session has been extended by half an hour as Jasprit Bumrah took two quick wickets to reduce Bangladesh to their last wicket. Ravindra Jadeja earlier took three wickets in his first three overs and that has all but ended any chance of a resistance that Bangladesh could put up. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shadman Islam managed to bat through much of the first half of the first session and it caused some worries among the Indian camp. However, Rohit Sharma brought Akash Deep and Jadeja for the first time after drinks and Bangladesh suddenly lost four quick wickets.
Despite losing two full days and over half of the Test match entering Day 4 in Kanpur, a monstrous all-round effort from India means that they enter the final day at Green Park Stadium with a chance to pull off a famous victory over Bangladesh. Bangladesh will return to bat at 26-2, trailing by 26 runs, and wary that India have the bowling quality and batting firepower to turn what looked for all money to be a draw into a win. Shadman Islam and first innings centurion Mominul Haque occupy the crease, and Bangladesh have plenty of batting in the tank, but India will smell blood and will be aggressive as they go for the win in order to all but nail down a spot in a third consecutive World Test Championship final next year.
For Bangladesh, patience and greater application with the bat will be demanded. With a win now looking unlikely for the visitors, staving off a loss will be the key. They will hope to bat through most of the day, with time a greater factor in their favour than runs on the board. With Mominul showing excellent form already in this Test as he scored an unbeaten 107* in the first innings to notch his record-extending 13th century for Bangladesh, he will require support from Islam, as well as captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, and the experience of Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Litton Das lower down the order. Bangladesh have the quality to prevent a loss in this match, especially with bat, and have shown great gumption in tough scenarios in recent months. They will want to dig deep and exit this series with a memorable performance.
India, meanwhile, know that a win is on the cards. With the Tigers already two wickets down, both dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin, the hosts are masters in home conditions, especially late in matches. A similar bowling effort to the first innings will be demanded by Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, and with Jasprit Bumrah in rip-roaring form and Ashwin already spinning his web, wickets and attacking cricket will be the name of the game. They will trust their batters to hunt down any sort of total in the back end of the game, with the fireworks of their first innings setting a template for what might be required. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, India will need to be clinical with their chances, but if they can match their form of day four, attendees at Green Park Stadium will go home happy at the end of the day.
Day four was a fine display of cricket across the board from India. Three wickets in the morning session meant Bangladesh were six down entering the second session, and India exerted a death grip over the lower order as fiery and accurate bowling led to the final three wickets falling for just 9 runs. A pair of screamers in the field by Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Siraj meant Bangladesh weren’t given any sort of reprieve, bowled out for 233 soon after lunch.
In response, India came out all guns blazing. A first-ball six by Rohit Sharma set the tone, and he and Yashasvi Jaiswal put together 50 runs in just 3 overs — the fastest a team has reached the 50-run mark in a Test innings, ever. Rohit would fall but Gill and Jaiswal kept it going, extending that record to the fastest to reach 100 runs, in 10.1 overs. Jaiswal looked in typically dominant touch as he slashed and drove his way to 72(51), before falling to a low one.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul answered their critics by keeping the momentum going, putting on a 87-run partnership in just 59 balls, even as it became tougher to score runs and Bangladesh went ultra-defensive. Rahul was very impressive as he showed a full range of shots enroute to 68(43).
Akash Deep would hit a couple of massive sixes, with the fifth-gear style of batting never slowing down for India. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan took 4 wickets each in India’s pursuit of runs, but every single Bangladesh bowler went at over a run-a-ball as India scored at a rate of 8.22 through the innings. They declared on 285-9 in hunt of a result, looking to capture wickets late on day four.