Half-centuries by captain Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan rescued Bangladesh from a precarious 109/4 before lunch to 322/6 at stumps on day three of the one-off Test against India. Bangladesh still trail India’s 687/6 by 365 runs.
In the first session, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma tore through the Bangladeshi top order. Yadav bowled a terrific five-over spell of pace and reverse-swing bowling, picking up just the one wicket of Mominul Haque, but got the visiting batsmen hopping on their toes and swinging their bats blindly. That he has picked up just 17 wickets in the 10 Tests he has played since the West Indies tour last year is purely down to some bad luck. He has bowled well right through the season, but was unlucky to have a lot of catches dropped off his bowling.
Ishant Sharma, after a horrid spell on Friday, turned up finally on day two as he too got the ball to reverse. The Delhi bowler soon picked up the wicket of Mahmudullah leg-before with a delivery that nipped back in. Earlier, Tamim Iqbal had committed the cardinal sin of running himself out in a Test match.
Mushfiqur and Shakib then began the rebuilding task just before lunch. The two put together 107 runs for the fifth session, before Shakib did what he has so often – throw away a good start. The all-rounder mistimed an attempted biggie off R Ashwin’s bowling and only found mid-on. No. 7 batsman Sabbir Rahman did not last long, as Bangladesh found themselves crumbling again at 235/6.
That’s where Mehedi Hasan got together with his captain just before tea, and the two managed to stick together till the end of play.
Brief score:
India 687/6 declared (Virat Kohli 204, Murali Vijay 108; Taijul Islam 3/156, Mehedi Hasan 2/165) lead Bangladesh 322/6 (Shakib Al Hasan 82, Mushfiqur Rahim 81*; Umesh Yadav 2/72) by 365 runs.