India vs Bangladesh 1st Test Day 1 Report: Ashwin, Jadeja Rescue India After Low Start

India finishes the first day of the first test against Bangladesh on a great note after failing to get a good start from the top and middle order. 

Thanks to Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who rescued India and helped them reach an unformidable total of 339 for six, forming a 195-run partnership for the seventh wicket. 

Ashwin batted fearlessly throughout the innings, putting the opposition under pressure. The opposition-dominated in the first two sessions, as India was 34 with three down at one point. 

When Ashwin came to bat, India’s score was 144 for six, and everyone wondered how soon the Bengal Tigers would all out India and come to bat. However, Ashwin-Jadeja formed an unbeatable wall, leading team India to total, which will be a tough nut to crack for the visiting team.

Bangladesh Dominated the First Two Session

Bangladesh had the upper hand after winning the toss asking the home team to put a score on board. 

In the first session, Bangladesh literally dominated as they crumbled the Indian top order when Rohit (6), Kohli (6), and Gill (0), returned to the dressing room when there were just 34 runs on the board. 

The credit for this spectacular performance from the visitors goes to their medium-fast bowler, Hasan Mahmud, who was playing his third international test. He took all the first four wickets. He also knocked out Rishabh Pant, at a score of 36, who is making a comeback to red ball cricket.

In the opening session, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the only batter who played sensible cricket and held the wicket from the other end. Jaiswal put a half-century on the board. 

There was a point in the second session when it seemed like Jaiswal and KL Rahul would take Team India out of these tough times, but then the real problem began when both batters lost their wickets within six balls. 

Team India’s Comeback in the Third Session

India one-sidedly dominated the third session with the unbeaten partnership of Jadeja and Ashwin who put 195 runs on board together. 

The aggressive batting from Ashwin-Jadeja puts the opposition under pressure leaving no chance for them to come back. 

India currently stands at 339 for six after day 1. The opening day for the first test was completely entertaining. 

It would be interesting to see how the pitch behaves on the second day, will the Jadeja-Ashwin partnership end early, or will they put a match-defining total on board?

Well, the second day of India vs Bangladesh has a lot to unveil. 

Ashwin’s Century

R Ashwin scored his sixth international century and second in his home ground Chennai. This is Ashwin’s fastest test century. Throughout the inning, this all-rounder showed resilience and barely touched any ball out of his range. So far he is playing at 102 runs in 112 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. 

What Ashiwin Said After Day 1?

Expressing his feelings after scoring a century, Ashwin said, “Always a special feeling to play in front of the home crowd. This is a ground I completely love to play cricket in. It’s given me a lot of wonderful memories. The last time I got a hundred, you were the coach Ravi bhai (Ravi Shastri). It does feel special. It helps that I have come back at the back of a T20 tournament (TNPL), and worked quite a bit on my batting.”

“Of course, I have always been wafting my bat around outside off-stump. Working on a few things and on a surface like this with a bit of spice, if you’re going after the ball, might as well go after it really hard like Rishabh does. It’s an old Chennai surface with a bit of bounce and carry. The red soil pitch allows you to play a few shots if you are willing to just get in line and give it a bit of a tonk when there’s width.”

When asked about the partnership with Jadeja, he said, “He (Jadeja) was of real help, there was a point in time where I was really sweating and getting a bit tired, Jaddu noticed it quickly and guided me through that phase. Jaddu has been one of our best batteries for our team in the last few years. Him being there, pretty solid and he was also very helpful in terms of telling me that we don’t have to convert twos and threes which was really helpful for me.”

While talking about the pitch behavior, he said,  “It’s a typical, old-fashioned Chennai pitch where overspin will fetch a bit of bounce. The wicket will start doing its tricks much later in the game. There’s enough in it for the quicks, good carry, good bounce if we present the seam nice and hard. The new ball will do a bit, there’ll be some help for the bowlers, we’ll have to start afresh tomorrow. There’s a bit in the pitch, it’s still damp underneath, so hopefully as it dries out, it quickens up.”

India vs Bangladesh Day 1 Highlights

https://www.bcci.tv/bccilink/videos/cgdBtJ8e