India vs Bangladesh Live Score 2nd Test Day 1: Mominul’s half century anchors BAN to 184/5 at Tea

Jaydev Unadkat finishes that session with a jaffa. Length ball, 130kph, and he gets it to angle across Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Mominul Haque is on 61 off 106 balls, Mehidy Hasan Miraz has scored four runs in as many balls, all his runs coming from a boundary he hit off the last ball of the 50th over.

Litton chips it straight to midwicket. Soft, soft dismissal and Ashwin gets his second. This is basically how the day has gone so far, it would look like Bangladesh have something going and then they would lose a wicket. They are 172/5 in 48.5 overs.

He hit a four off the fourth ball of the 47th bowled by Siraj. That was back-foot punch through the offside. The next ball is pulled comprehensively into the stands. This partnership has raced to 36 off 35 balls. 

Short and wide from Unadkat, Mominul with all the time in the world to cut it over point. Big cheers from the crowd as he raises his bat for his half century. He has got there in 78 balls, Bangladesh 139/4 in 43 overs.

Slow bouncer from Unadkat, it looked like Mominul was taking evasive action. What he ended up doing is perfectly ramp it over the cordon for four. Complete control there, Mominul playing like someone who has been scoring centuries for fun of late instead of someone who has hardly managed to reach double figures in over a year. 

Nick and that’s it! Unadkat gets his second, the partnership is broken. Rahim caught on the backfoot as the ball pitches around off, straightens up a little bit and squares him up. It takes the edge and goes the wicketkeeper. That stand ends on 48 off 77. 

Partnership between Mushfiqur and Mominul is on 48 off 74. Mushfiqur on 26 off 43 balls, Mominul on 41 off 70. This Test is on a knife’s edge at the moment. 

This time it is Mominul Haque who launches the attack. Unadkat sends in two deliveries full, Mominul hits the first through short midwicket and mid-on and the second through midwicket. Bangladesh getting some accelaration here and India are now on the backfoot, 125/3 in 39 overs. 

Short of a length from Ashwin, Mushfiqur rocks back and hits it behind point for four. Fantastic batting from the veteran, he moves to 22 off 27, Bangladesh 115/3 in 38 overs. 

Mushfiqur giving Ashwin some love. He first punches the spinner through covers, then dances down the track and hits it along the ground between the bowler and the non-striker. 

A single off the last ball of the 36th over takes Bangladesh into three-digit zone.

Siraj to Mushfiqur for the second ball of the 34th, the delivery is sent in at a length and angles in sharply. Loud appeals from India for LBW is turned down by the umpire. Rahul takes the DRS and ball tracking shows that the cherry was missing off-stump.

Mominul steers a length delivery from Umesh past the slip cordon. Ashwin gives chase, gets to the ball but still can’t stop it from going over the ropes. Bangladesh 97/3 in 33 overs. 

Two of Bangladesh’s best, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque in the middle now. Siraj and Umesh continue to alternate for India. 

Well talk about a wicket out of nothing. Umesh pitches it up, Shakib tries to go aerial but seems uncertain of that shot. His timing is all wrong and he lobs it nicely to Cheteshwar Pujara at mid-off. Terrible shot from the Bangladesh captain and his team have to start afresh in the second session.

Umesh Yadav has the ball in his hands, Shakib Al Hasan facing up. India will want a wicket pronto. 

“Dropping a Man of the Match, that is unbelievable. That’s the only word I can use and it’s a gentle word. I would like to use quite stronger words, but it’s unbelievable that you left out a man of the match, who got eight out of the 20 wickets,” Gavaskar said on Sony. 

That over from Axar was not the last of the session but the next from Ashwin sure was. An intriguing session, India put the Bangladesh openers through hell and back before they both fell. However, Mominul and Shakib have since looked far more comfortable. Their partnership is on 43 off 76 balls, Bangladesh are on 82/2 off 28 overs.

The second last ball of the over is overpitched by Axar, Mominul clips just past midiwicket and the fielder runs after it. The ball wins the race. Mominul moves to 19 off 37, Bangladesh are 75/2 after 27 overs. 

Wonder if India will be allowed to squeeze in another over here before lunch. Just about three minutes to go off before the gong. Shakib is on strike, he has been swinging and slashing wildly a lot but it looks like he will be a bit more circumspect now, no use trying to go for a big one and falling just before the end of a session. 

Mominul tries to cut a length delivery from Ashwin, surprised by the bounce and the ball goes high after taking the upper side of the bat between slip and wicketkeeper. Bangladesh 69/2 in 24 overs

Shakib charges down the track and smashes Ashwin’s last ball of the over over midwicket. Bangladesh 63/2 in 22 overs, Shakib moves to 13 off 20. 

Width from Ashwin for the third ball of the over and Shakib latches on to it. He makes room and slashes it over extra cover. 

Seasoned all-rounders, one who has found more sucess with the bat, the other with the ball. Shakib tries to unsettle Ashwin by moving around off the first two balls. This will be an interesting contest. 

Why is that a big deal? Well, this is the first time in nine innings that Mominul has not got out for a single digit score. His form has fallen off a cliff since November 2021, this is only the fourth time that he hasn’t fallen for a single digit score in this period.

Mominul drives an overpitched delivery from Ashwin and Pujara is not quick enough to get down and stop the ball. It rolls to the boundary. Bangladesh 46/2 after 18 overs. 

Bangladesh have lost both their openers within the space of three balls! Big appeal from India, the umpire raises his finger and Shanto takes the review. Offers no shot to a length delivery, ball-tracking holds up the umpire’s call. Shanto smashes his pads with his bat as he walks off. Bangladesh 39/2 in 15.2 overs. 

Extra bounce, something that Unadkat has been hounding the Bangladesh batters with today. Zakir tries to cut the ball, it goes big on him and toom the gloves and goes to Rahul at fourth slip. Jaydev Unadkat, after taking 353 first class wickets, finally gets his first Test scalp

Zakir Hasan is gone for 15 off 34, Bangladesh 39/1 in 14.5 overs

Strangely enough, this is the first time that India can seriously ponder taking a DRS. Length ball from Ashwin beats the inside edge and takes Shanto’s pads. The umpire shakes his head, and India decide not take the review. Replays show that it may not have straightened enough. Bangladesh get to 38/0 at the end of that over. 

Unadkat goes fill on the stumps for the fifth ball of the 13th over, Shanto presents the full face of the bat and sends it careening along the ground past the non-striker for four. Bangladesh 37/0 after 13 overs. 

Ashwin sends the first ball of his over fullish outside off. The batter withdraws his bat at the last moment as the ball fizzes past him and bounces up. Pant rises quickly to hold on and some big noises made by the Indians after that. Bangladesh 32/0 after 12 overs. 

Bangladesh 26/0 after 11 overs. Umesh had continued and it was Siraj who had been replaced by Unadkat. He bowled two overs for five runs and now Umesh has been replaced by Ashwin after a five-over spell. 

353 first class wickets across 96 matches including a whopping 20 five wicket hauls. The Saurashtra captain has been a stalwart in domestic cricket over the years and now he is back to bowling for India. Wonder if he can get his first Test wicket today.

Hardly any control for the batters thus far but they somehow hold on. They would be hoping that one of these two are taken off soon but then it’s not like there will be a huge drop in quality from India once they do go off. For now, the conditions have to ease up for Bangladesh to have any respite. 

Umesh gets the ball to pitch around middle and leg, it moves away late and comprehensively beats Zakir’s defence. This has been excellent stuff from Umesh and Siraj, Bangladesh pretty lucky to have not lost a wicket yet. 

Close call for Zakir off the fourth ball as it takes his outside edge and flies between slip and gully for a four. Siraj and Umesh have kept the batters on their toes thus far. 

Siraj does continue so that knock was only a minor one. Shanto and Zakir have been steady thus far, aside from that first ball scare for the latter. Both are on four runs. 

How about that, Zakir Hussain flicking Umesh Yadav uppishly towards backward square leg. Siraj runs in from fine leg, puts in the dive but can’t hold on to the ball. He then clutches his left shoulder, which had hit the ground and taken off a patch of gras. Siraj eventually goes off the field for some medical attention. 

The first three balls are length balls on off, then Siraj sends in a length ball to leg stump and then goes full for the fifth ball. Shanto drives that one down the ground to send it to the boundary.

Najmul Hossain Shanto facing the first over from Mohammed Siraj with Zakir Hassan, who scored a century on debut in the previous Test at the other end. 

India hage played 118 Tests since Jaydev Unadkat last played one, which is the longest gap for any player from the country. He comfortably surpasses previous record holder Dinesh Karthik, who had sat out 87 Tests between 2010 and 2018. He is also second highest on the all-time list, with Gareth Batty returning to Tests for England at the age of 39 in 2016 putting him on top at 142 Tests.

“We’d have done the same. To be honest, on seeing the surface, not sure what to make of it. There is some grass that you can see, but it’s generally good to bat here. There is generally some bounce here and some help for both pacers and spinners. We’d have wanted to bat first but we aren’t sure what to expect. Just need to play good cricket. Need to bowl well in the first innings. It does seem damp and we need to get early wickets. We made one change – Kuldeep misses out and Unadkat comes in. Unfortunate decision for us to leave him (Kuldeep) out but it’s an opportunity for Unadkat.”

We’ll bat first. It will be challenging for the first two hours. If we can manage that, we can score well. Fast bowlers get some help here but it is generally good for batting. Two changes – Mominul is playing for Yasir, Taskin in for Ebadot.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Nurul Hasan(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed

KL Rahul(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Very interesting call here from India. Kuldeep Yadav, player of the match in the first Test, has been dropped for the extra pace option of Jaydev Unadkat. What a moment this is for Unadkat. His first and only Test match came all the way back in December 2010 against South Africa in Centurion. The Indian bowlers were taken to the cleaners in that game and Unadkat was no different. He bowled 26 overs, conceded 101 runs and took no wickets. Kuldeep Yadav had taken five wickets in the first innings and three in the second but trust India to make calls like dropping a player after a performance like that.

Bangladesh win the toss and choose to bat first. KL Rahul says that it is actually a very confusing wicket so he is not quiet sure if this is good or bad for India. 

The word from the middle is that Rahul had a long chat with Vikram Rathour before getting a few throwdowns in the middle. It looks like the Indian skipper will play after all. 

KL Rahul(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Saurabh Kumar, Srikar Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran

Najmul Hossain Shanto, Zakir Hasan, Yasir Ali, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Nurul Hasan(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Mominul Haque

Shakib Al Hasan had not bowled in the second innings of the first Test due to the wear and tear he had picked up over the course of the ODI series before the Tests. But bowling coach Allan Donald says that the Bangladesh captain is now fine. “Shakib is okay, he will bowl. He was bruised and battered in the one-day game here, but he has gone through that. He is available for selection, and available to bowl. Any selectors here? (laughs) If I am talking out of the room a little bit, it will be the same three spinners and welcoming back Taskin and Khaled as well.”

Rahul was receiving throwdowns from batting coach Rathour in the nets on the eve of the game when he was hit on the hand and received medical attention. Rahul’s injury is the latest in the long list of players that have been injured on or before this tour. Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Navdeep Saini were ruled out of the Dhaka Test.

Bangladesh showed some spark but India were the dominant side in the first Test and they would be hoping that they can continue in the same vein. Bangladesh may not be among the foremost Test playing countries of the world but any win for India is a valuable one considering they stand a chance at qualifying for a second consecutive World Test Championship final. Batting coach Vikram Rathour had said yesterday that KL Rahul’s hand injury is not that serious but we will only know for sure when he walks out, or doesn’t walk out, for the toss, which, by the way, is schedule for 8.30am IST.