(Reuters) – India eased to a remarkable seven-wicket victory in the rain-truncated second test against Bangladesh to complete a 2-0 series sweep in Kanpur yesterday.
contest as he scrapped to 37 (ESPN Cricinfo Photo)
India spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Jasprit Bumrah wreaked havoc in the extended morning session when Bangladesh lost eight wickets to be bowled out for a paltry 146 in their second innings.
It left India needing 95 and they did it with more than a session to spare. Yashasvi Jaiswal led their chase with a fluent 51 while Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 29 as India registered a record-extending 18th consecutive test series victory on home soil.
A remarkable outcome in a test which lost two and half days to bad weather cemented India’s position atop the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
“To make a game out of it on that pitch was a superb effort,” India captain Rohit Sharma said.
“When we came on day four, we thought ‘let’s try and get them out as quickly as possible and then see what we can do with the bat’…
“The pitch did not have much for the bowler but to make a game out of it was a superb effort by the bowlers.”
India launched a batting blitz on Monday to eclipse Bangladesh’s first-innings total of 233 in only 28 overs.
They declared on 285-9 after scoring at a break-neck pace to inject fresh life into a game that had appeared destined for a draw.
Bangladesh suffered an early blow after resuming on 26-2 on the final day.
Ravichandran Ashwin (3-50) claimed his third wicket when he had Mominul Haque caught in the leg slip for two.
Shadman Islam (50) and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (19) offered resistance with a 55-run stand before poor shot selection and smart bowling changes by India led to their dismissals.
Jadeja (3-34) bowled Shanto after the batter fluffed a reverse sweep and Shadman completed his fifty before edging seamer Akash Deep to Yashasvi Jaiswal at slip.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja removed Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan in successive overs and seamer Bumrah sent back Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Mushfiqur Rahim (37) hung around for a bit before Bumrah (3-17) removed him with the final delivery of the session.
India lost Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill cheaply but Jaiswal’s second half-century of the match sealed victory with a session to spare.