Lunch Bangladesh 74 for 2 (Shanto 28*, Mominul 17*, Deep 2-14) vs India
As the last over before the break was in progress, it started drizzling, and when the teams walked back, the ground staff quickly brought the covers on.
Rohit Sharma had expected his three seamers to make use of the overcast conditions as India went unchanged after a delayed start because of overnight rain. Jasprit Bumrah got the ball to move both ways and bowled three maidens to start with but did not strike. Mohammed Siraj didn’t get any success either at the other end as Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan survived the opening spells. Zakir, in fact, could not open his account despite facing 20 balls in that period.
Things changed when Akash Deep was introduced in the ninth over. With his third ball, he had Zakir walking at him and edging one low to the right of gully where Yashasvi Jaiswal grabbed the ball with both hands inches above the ground. The TV umpire was consulted about the fairness of the catch. He had only one clear angle but it was enough for him to deduce that the ball went straight into Jaiswal’s hands.
A few overs later, Akash Deep struck again. Continuing around the wicket, he got one to beat Shadman’s inside edge and hit him on the pad. The on-field umpire denied the huge lbw appeal – it looked like the ball, at best, would have clipped leg stump. India opted for the review and to everyone’s surprise, the projection showed the ball hitting a good chunk of the leg stump.
Shanto came out with a positive mindset and picked up a few streaky boundaries off the outer half of the bat. Mominul, too, grew in confidence as the innings progressed. He ramped Akash Deep and then Siraj for a four each before driving Bumrah through the covers. That took some pressure off Bangladesh but they will be aware it is only the start.
Earlier, the toss was delayed by an hour because of a wet outfield. When the coin landed in India’s favour, Rohit decided to bowl under overcast skies. It was the first time since 2015 that India chose to bowl in a home Test. The last time a team opted to bowl at Green Park was in 1964, when India had inserted England.
Rohit said the pitch was a little soft and had a bit more grass than the usual Kanpur surface. Bangladesh read the conditions differently; not only did they want to bat first but also picked three spinners by bringing in Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam for Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed.
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