India Defy the Odds to Clinch a 2-0 Series Victory Against Bangladesh
India managed an incredible seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh to complete a 2-0 series whitewash despite missing two days of play due to rain.
On the fifth day of the second Test at Kanpur, the hosts overcame a goal of 95 runs in just over an hour, led by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fifties in both innings.
Key Performances and Match Results
India 285 for 9 dec (Jaiswal 72, Rahul 68, Mehidy 4-41, Shakib 4-78) and 98 for 3 (Jaiswal 51, Kohli 29*, Mehidy 2-44) beat Bangladesh 233 (Mominul 107*, Bumrah 3-50) and 146 (Shadman 50, Bumrah 3-17, Jadeja 3-34, Ashwin 3-50) by 7 wickets.
Match Analysis
In a match when only 35 overs had been bowled in the first three days, India’s batters ignited an almost unimaginable surge for victory less than 24 hours earlier. In less than an hour, they achieved their target of 95. The high point of India’s performance on Tuesday came from yet another fourth-day record-breaker; Bangladesh was bowled out for 146 after a protracted first session, which was sparked by Ravindra Jadeja’s triple-strike.
India lost three wickets in the chase, but Rishabh Pant’s 43-ball fifty from Yashasvi Jaiswal brought up the winning runs. With a 2-0 series sweep, India increased their lead at the top of the WTC points table.
After 281 against South Africa in Cape Town earlier this year, India’s 312 balls batted for in this Test match is the second-fewest balls they have faced – and the fourth-fewest overall – to win a Test match.
Bangladesh began the day with a score of 26 for 2, and after Jadeja and Akash Deep got things going, they collapsed to 7 for 55. Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin both finished with three. When Jadeja struck in three straight overs, he not only removed Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das but also broke the implacable 55-run partnership that had been standing between Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shadman Islam.
Bangladesh experienced a rise from 91 for 3 to 94 for 7. Bumrah then eliminated the tail. There were no nasty turns or demons on the surface; just Jadeja’s tight, skippy bowling and the building pressure.
Ashwin struck first on the day of 98 overs, with Bangladesh down by 26 runs. Mominul Haque fell victim to the identical shot after using the sweep to his advantage to score an undefeated hundred in the first innings when he gave a catch to leg slip for two. Although many may have predicted that Bangladesh would give up to pressure, Shadman responded by hitting several boundaries off Ashwin. He gave Bangladesh confidence and the lead when he hit three assured cover drives and a back-foot cut for four fours in seven balls against Ashwin.
A couple of mishandled balls from Mohammed Siraj allowed for extra boundaries to be reached; in his opening overs, he was hit for two fours apiece by Shanto and Shadman, albeit one of those would have been a possibility if third slip had been in place.
Since only left-hand hitters had been at the crease, it’s possible that Jadeja was the last player to get the ball. However, he only needed to strike twice. On his opening ball against Jadeja, Shanto mishandled a reverse sweep and lost his leg stump.
However, the bowler got extra bounce on a surface that had been staying low, catching Litton behind on a cut for one run. Soon after the batsman reached his half-century, Akash Deep pitched one up to Shadman, and the push to gully ended his 101-ball stay between those two overs.
By now Jadeja had spread throughout Bangladesh. He dismissed Shakib in his third over, bowling a slow, harmless delivery through the air that Shakib could only chip back, giving Jadeja early in his spell figures of 2.2-1-3-3.
After Bangladesh was down seven wickets for ninety-four, Rohit Sharma summoned in Bumrah, and the captain promptly performed his duty. His third ball under the new spell was a stunning ball that caught Mehidy Hasan Miraz off guard. Only Mushfiqur Rahim managed to postpone the inevitable and push the lead above 100. He defeated the quicks and hit two consecutive fours against Jadeja.
At the start of lunch, Bumrah captured Taijul Islam lbw to prolong the first session, but Mushfiqur further irritated the hosts. With just one wicket remaining, he began to farm the strike, but once more, Bumrah was the difference maker. Returning for one more over before lunch, his plodding off cutter, hitting the ball at 125 kph, was badly hit by Mushfiqur on the final ball of the session, undoing all of his hard work.
Once more, India came out swinging while Bangladesh failed to find any pace in their pursuit of wickets. In Mehidy’s second over, Rohit middled a sweep but was caught deep backward square-leg after missing a massive swing to the leg side in the first over.
Mehidy’s delivery, which was similar to the one that kept low and dismissed Rohit on Monday, trapped Shubman Gill lbw for six. Otherwise, Jaiswal’s third half-century of the series helped India coast through their pursuit. He flexed his back-foot sweeps and punches, coming down the track to shatter a couple of boundaries, including a six. With just three runs needed, Jaiswal’s quick partnership of 58 with Virat Kohli almost brought India through, but he misplayed a swing to the off side.
