Twin tons put Bangladesh on the mat
Hyderabad: Bangladesh would well be thinking what could have happened had they utilised the chances that came their way as India closed at 356 for three at stumps on day one in the one-off Test at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Uppal, here Thursday.
Centuries from Murali Vijay (108, 160b, 12×4, 1×6), Virat Kohli (111 batting, 141b, 12×4) and an entertaining knock from Cheteshwar Pujara (83, 177b, 9×4) have already put India on a commanding platform. It may not have been so had Vijay, when on 35, and Pujara, when on 11, not been given reprieves.
It was that part of the early session, when the Bangladesh pacers held sway with Taskin Ahmed ((1/59) getting rid of KL Rahul early. He and Kamrul Islam Rabbi were then making both Vijay and Pujara jump and play away from their body on numerous occasions. Both batsmen also were disconcerted by the bounce that the visitors’ pacers were generating, so much so that the first five overs produced just four scoring shots.
However, as the sun started shining, the Indian innings began to blossom. Pujara got the first boundary of the day as he square-drove Rabbi to the point fence and from then on there was no stopping the two as they put on 178 runs for the second wicket. It was their fifth century partnership of the home season and once more put India on the perfect pedestal to attack.
Vijay, as usual was pleasing to the eyes with his languid grace, hitting the ball down the ground. He hit Shakib Al Hasan over his head to bring up the only six of the day. But then came a major reprieve when he and Pujara found themselves at the same end. However, Mehedi Hasan failed to produce the perfect throw from square-leg and Vijay managed to scamper home to safety.
The Tamil Nadu batsman made the visitors pay heavily with his ninth Test hundred while Pujara purring along, broke Chandu Borde’s long-standing record of most runs in a season (1,604) driving Mehedi down the ground for a straight four. But he was out next ball, but that only compounded the problems for Bangladesh.
Kohli walked in autopilot mode, hitting two boundaries of the first three deliveries he faced. He got to his first 50 in 73 balls, his next 50 came off 60 and by reaching the three-figure mark, he has now scored a hundred against every Test opposition he has played against (Pakistan and Zimbabwe not included).
After Vijay’s dismissal comeback man Ajinkya Rahane (45, 60b, 7×3) looked comfortable during the unfinished stand of 122 runs for the fourth wicket with Kohli. He used his feet well against the spinners, but then with Kohli in full flow, batting seemed a different art altogether.
Bangladesh can now only hope for a miracle when the game resumes, Friday. The difference in class between the two sides was quite evident, no arguments on that at all.
It must have been a day of mixed feelings for Cheteshwar Pujara and Karun Nair as both created records albeit of different kinds.
While Pujara may manage a smile despite missing out on a Test hundred, Karun would just wonder what more could he have done apart from scoring a triple ton to miss out on a Test match.
Pujara eclipsed Chandu Borde’s five decades old national record of most runs by an Indian in a single season. Borde had scored 1604 runs in the 1964-65 season that included runs in Tests as well as first-class matches.
As Pujara reached his personal score of 83, he surpassed Borde by a run and now has 1,605 runs in the season. With four more Tests to go, Pujara may close in on 2,000 runs by an Indian batsman in a single season.
Interestingly, the third highest aggregate of runs by an Indian also batsman in a single season stands in Pujara’s name. He had scored 1,585 runs during the 2012-13 season.
Only three players before Karun had missed out on the next Test match after scoring a triple hundred.
Andy Sandham was 40 years old during the timeless Test against West Indies in Jamaica way back in 1925. Sandham was playing his 14th Test and scored 325 against the West Indies.
The other two, who missed out on the next Test after a triple ton, were Sir Len Hutton and Inzamam ul-Haq but in both cases, the players in question were not fully fit.
Minor corrections in batting helped: Vijay
Ton-up opener Murali Vijay said after the match Thursday that he has curbed the tendency to nibble at deliveries outside off-stump and that is helping him to score on a consistent basis.
“See, in the series against England, I was playing at balls that I should be leaving actually. I went back home and gave it a thought, came back to Mumbai (England Test) and played in the way I wanted to. These small things make a huge difference to the game,” Vijay told reporters here.
“As I am playing just one format of the game at the moment, I have got a decent idea about it and hang of it. I want to give as many consistent starts as possible for India. I am ready for my opportunity in other two formats as well,” he added.
On how he planned his innings, Vijay said: “To be honest, I was feeling good about my game coming into this match. Hopefully, I can carry that forward. I just saw the new ball for 4-5 overs, read the wicket. Then I thought I can play my shots and it turned out to be my day today (Thursday). The pitch was two-paced in the morning session and in the afternoon it became slower.”
Vijay pointed out that it was purely because of Kohli that India scored 20 runs extra with a whopping 63 runs coming off last nine overs. “At the end of the day, 330-335 would have been the perfect score. The extra 20-odd runs have been due to Virat’s attacking instincts,” he said.
‘New experience’
Young Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed said Thursday after the game that it was a new experience for him while bowling on a ‘flat’ deck at the Rajiv Gandi Stadium here. “Actually on this kind of wicket, bowlers have to be patient. You can’t bowl too many loose deliveries as batsmen find it easy. Only if the batsman makes mistakes, then you can get them out,” Taskin said. “Our inexperience as a bowling unit on such tracks showed and India took full advantage of it,” he added.