However, Zakir’s inside-out loft of Ravichandran Ashwin (14-2-43-0). Over extra cover to disrupt the off-spinner’s length was the morning’s best shot. On the fourth day of the first Test here on Saturday. Openers Zakir Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto batted with a lot of purposes. At lunch against India, Bangladesh reached 119 for no loss thanks to their tough half-centuries.
The two left-handers have demonstrated significantly more proficiency on a surface that still appears to be suitable for batting. Even though the target of 513 is still a far-fetched goal. Interestingly, Zakir’s (55 batting) and Shanto’s (64 batting) are a century-plus partnership. Against India in Test matches is the highest of any opening pair.
The Indian bowling attack did not appear to be intimidating. During the first hour, Hasan and Shanto both scored eight and seven boundaries, respectively. Mohammed Siraj (10-1-32-0) and Umesh Yadav (6-2-11-0), the pacers, did not bowl a lot of balls that took wickets. Umesh was particularly bowled short and wide when Zakir hit him over deep third man. Shanto pulled the veteran pacer powerfully behind square.
Off Siraj, Shanto also hit back-to-back boundaries, first with a stunning on-drive and then with a flick toward the square leg boundary. However, Zakir’s inside-out loft of Ravichandran Ashwin (14-2-43-0). Over extra cover to disrupt the off-spinner’s length was the morning’s best shot. Ashwin, who typically requires a little assistance from 22 yards, didn’t really bother the batters because the track didn’t show much wear.
But they also prevented him from settling down to a single length by rotating singles. India doesn’t need to panic at this point, but with a little help from the pitch, the question will be whether the home team’s top order can bat for long enough to win the game. The openers, Ashwin and Axar Patel, were plonking their front foot and smothering any possible turn against them.
Kuldeep Yadav is the only player who is getting some turns, but wrist spinners typically ignore pitch when calculating surface deviation. Siraj started sledding Shanto during his second spell of the morning. Shanto did the right thing by not retaliating and smiled back at the Indian speedster. The frustration was evident.