BAN vs IND, 2nd Test, Day 1:  India 19 for 0 (Gill 14*, Rahul 3*) trail Bangladesh 227 (Mominul 84, Umesh 4-25, Ashwin 4-71) by 208 runs

In spite of Mominul Haque’s return score of 84, Umesh Yadav and R Ashwin each took four wickets to propel India to victory. In the second Test in Mirpur, Bangladesh batted first. At one point after tea, they were 213 for 5, but within 14 runs, they lost their last five wickets and were all out for 227.

Except for Mominul, none of Bangladesh’s top seven batters went beyond 15 runs. They lost a wicket whenever a partnership appeared to be developing. There was a stand of at least 39 for five of the first six wickets, but the lowest was only 48.

India were passed on with 14 overs to confront

The play continued for an additional half hour, but only eight of those could be bowled due to poor lighting. KL Rahul was circumspect against Taskin Ahmed and Shakib Al Hasan in that brief period, and he finished the day with three runs not out off thirty balls. He was surrounded by Shubman Gill, whose unbeaten 14 of 20 included a six and a four.

On a grassy field in the morning, India sent three seamers and two spinners into the match, substituting Jaydev Unadkat for Kuldeep Yadav, the previous game’s Player of the Match. Unadkat had not played a Test in 12 years, and this was only his second overall. India missed 118 Test matches between his two appearances, which ranks second among Test cricketers.

Mohammed Siraj and Umesh both had movement with the new ball, but neither really pitched it up to take advantage of the grassy surface. That led to a lot of plays and misses, but the openers for Bangladesh, Zakir Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto, were able to get through their spells.

Unadkat, the slowest Indian seamer, did not find as much movement in the first change, but his higher release point gave him more bounce. He soon bowled with four slips, a gully, and a short leg, frequently striking batters with the gloves.

Zakir made the decision to cut a short-of-length delivery from Unadkat with Bangladesh on 39, only to be stopped by the extra bounce. Unadkat got his first wicket in a Test match when the ball hit his glove and bounced to fourth slip.

Shanto was lbw by Ashwin in the following over. Playing for the turn, the batter raised his arms to a length ball that went around the wicket and hit him on the pad. On the field, he was given out lbw, and a review came back with the umpire’s call verdict. Ball-tracking showed the ball tickling off the stump.

Being ranked No. 4, Shakib attacked Ashwin from above even before he reached double digits. He originally hit Ashwin back to front over additional cover prior to moving down the track later in the work to store him past deep midwicket boundary.

Slices of luck were also enjoyed by Mominul and Shakib. Rishabh Pant missed a difficult leg-side stumping in the final over before lunch when Shakib charged at Ashwin and the ball sneaked through his legs, and Mominul’s cut against Ashwin flew between the wicketkeeper and slip.

But Umesh sent Shakib back on the first ball after the break, so the reprieve didn’t cost much. The Bangladesh captain attempted to loft him over mid-off, but the timing wasn’t right, so he gave up the easiest chance.

Mominul and Mushfiqur put together 48 for the fourth wicket before Unadkat broke the stand, starting slowly and hitting six fours in ten balls. He found the extra bounce by bowling around the wicket, and the ball went over the outside edge of Mushfiqur’s bat and into Pant’s gloves.

Litton Das got off to a good start by punching Siraj for four and then pulling a six on the next ball. He moved quickly to 25 but couldn’t keep Ashwin’s ball down, so he was dropped at short midwicket.

Mominul, on the other hand, kept going, ramping two more fours off Unadkat to reach his half-century. Despite several close calls, he and Mehidy Hasan Miraz ensured that Bangladesh did not lose another wicket before tea.

Mehidy felt unwell after tea, but the pair added 41 more runs for the sixth wicket. The batter made the decision to continue when the physio came out to check on him. Mehidy, however, attempted to cut a ball that was too close to him and nicked it behind Umesh, who quickly removed him.

The collapse was triggered by Mehidy’s wicket. Umesh got one to reverse in to trap Nurul Hasan lbw in his next over. It was ruled not out by the on-field umpire, but India got the review to change the decision. Also, Taskin didn’t last long. At one point, he gave one to Siraj, who, after some juggling, got the chance. On the first ball of the day’s second over, Siraj had bowled Shanto off Umesh.

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This while, Mominul was firm toward one side. However, he wound up in two personalities against an Ashwin carrom ball. Before extending his arms, he appeared to be driving at it. Pant grabbed the ball as it brushed his gloves, but it was too late. Two balls later, Khaled Ahmed hit a full toss straight to Unadkat at deep midwicket, bringing Ashwin’s innings to a close.