CHENNAI: Riding on home hero R Ashwin's 6 for 88 and Ravindra Jadeja's 3 for 58, India secured a 280-run victory over Bangladesh on Day 4 of the first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday. With this outcome, India now lead the two-Test series 1-0.
Initially, it was the pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who kept it tight to apply the pressure on the Bangladesh batters. Later, Ashwin - who was adjudged the Player of the Match - and Jadeja took over. Making the best use of the deteriorating surface, the duo did the bulk of the damage to complete the job for the hosts.
Ashwin, in the process, picked up his 37th five-wicket haul in Tests, equalling spin great Shane Warne's record. Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan tops the list with 67 five-wicket hauls. Ashwin, 38, later revealed that he keeps reinventing himself to produce the goods.
"Firstly, it is a challenge. It is not the same, you play 25, 26, 30 or even 35. 38 is different from 35, every bit of work that you put in, you have to put in doubly hard to earn the right to be there. There is no doubt that there are challenges for me to go through, usually, it takes a little bit longer, even though I haven't played a three-day game in a while. To be fair, I have reduced my strength-training sessions, I have worked differently on my mobility and other aspects of life... do yoga it's good," revealed Ashwin, adding that the breaks between the matches give him time to rejuvenate.
Ashwin and the rest of the players' output has certainly pleased Rohit Sharma, the skipper of the side. India is scheduled to play 10 consecutive Tests and it goes without saying this win is a welcome result for Rohit & Co.
"It was a great result looking at what lies ahead for us. We are playing after a long time, but you are never out of cricket. We came here a week before, we had a good lead-up to the Test match and we got the result that we wanted," said an elated Sharma.
The red soil "sporting" wicket received criticism from certain quarters as the match got over within four days. Rohit felt patience was the key to India's success.
"The red soil pitch always has something to offer. You need to have a little bit of patience as well. You don't see much happening straightaway. This was a pitch where we had to show a lot of patience whether we bat or bowl. We were patient enough with the bat to get those big runs and then with the ball as well we were patient enough to hit the right areas and put them under pressure consistently," opined Rohit.
Apart from Ashwin and Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, who was making a return to Test cricket, was one of the standouts for the hosts. Despite missing out on an easy stumping chance on the day, Rohit was delighted to have him back.
"He (Pant) has been through some really tough times. The way he has managed himself through those tough times was superb to watch. He came back in the IPL, followed by a very successful World Cup and this is the format he loves the most. For us, it was never about what he was going to do with the bat, we always knew what he had with the bat and with the gloves as well. It was just about giving him the game time. Credit to him as well, he went on to play Duleep Trophy and got ready for this Test match and had an impact straightaway in the game," said Rohit.
Irrespective of the nature of the wicket, Chepauk has always had something for the fast bowlers in the first half an hour or so of the day's play. That was evident as Bumrah and Siraj bowled with plenty of energy to test the visiting batters. The duo was unplayable at times with Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan fighting for survival.
But it was Ashwin who got the first breakthrough on the day, sending back Shakib.
Shanto's fighting 82 in vain
Shanto, like on Day 3, showed plenty of fight but with wickets falling regularly at the other end, he seemed to be running out of partners. He was eventually dismissed for 82 by Jadeja, who bowled with subtle variations to make it tough for the rival batters.
"As a batter, I always try to contribute. I enjoy my batting. Just try to bat as long as we can without thinking about the outcome, just try to follow our process and play with our strengths. That's what we wanted to do," said Shanto.
Bangladesh might have been the second-best side over the last four days or so but Shanto felt this experience was essential for his side.
"I think it was very important, learning-wise. In the first innings of batting, especially at the top of the order, we should have been a little careful as we needed to put on some runs. And, going forward, all the batters think that they can bounce back. So, we will see," he noted.
The captain is encouraged by the manner in which his bowlers operate. "The positive thing is the way Hasan (Mahmud), Taskin (Ahmed) and Rana (Nahid) bowled in the first 2-3 hours, really impressive. After that, they (India) batted really well. Seaming option - everyone contributed. The way we bowled with the new ball, it's impressive. The last couple of series we have bowled really well but we have to continue that," added Shanto.
