R Ashwin (42*) and Shreyas Iyer (29*) played an unbeaten 71-run stand for the eighth wicket to help India defeat the odds and win despite falling to 74/7 in the chase for 145.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz was Bangladesh’s hero, taking three wickets overnight and two more early on day four to cause concern for India. India started with a more upbeat outlook with the bat, needing 100 more runs to win.
Jaydev Unadkat scored a six on the next ball after surviving an early LBW review.
However, his luck with the review was short-lived as Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan caught him in front of the opposition.
Rishabh Pant assumed the role of being proactive as Unadkat left, burning a review in the process. Mehidy Hasan had him LBW with one going straight on from around the wicket after he reverse-swept Shakib for a boundary. The well-set Axar Patel was bowled on 34 by a quicker ball that ricocheted off his pads and onto the leg stump, and Mehidy had Bangladesh in cock-a-hoop in his next over.
R Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer joined forces as Bangladesh was close to winning their first Test against India. If Ashwin hadn’t been dropped on 1, the pair might have speared early. Mehidy Hasan was close to scoring his sixth run, but Mominul Haque, who is otherwise sharp, missed a bat-pad opportunity.
It gave India the breather they required and the couple Ashwin and Iyer started to modify the innings in singles and twos gradually. The bite off the pitch decreased as the ball became softer, but there was still enough to keep the bowlers interested. Through a constant focus on the stumps and a rare boundary ball, Bangladesh’s spinners were right on target.
Iyer finally took a chance with just 27 runs and 66 balls into the partnership. Iyer lofted Shakib over mid-off for a boundary on 97/7, though not in the best way. After that, Shakib pulled his length back, and Iyer pulled him over midwicket right away.
Mehidy finally missed his length and went a little short to be drilled through cover in the subsequent over, giving him one more boundary. The three borders quickly changed the momentum in India’s favor.
Ashwin scored two boundaries in the over, one streakily off the outside edge, as Shakib brought on a pacer with the final dice roll to increase tension.
As they worked the singles, the pair’s fifty-run stand came up shortly after. When Mehidy Hasan was selected for 16 in an over, the victory finally came quickly. Ashwin started with a short ball and hit him for a six-over midwicket. He then lofted him over mid-off for another boundary, and he ended with a whip through midwicket.
India swept the series 2-0 and moved up to second in the WTC table thanks to the second-highest eighth wicket stand in Test cricket in the fourth innings.
Brief ratings: 227 and 231 Bangladesh (Litton Das 73, Zakir Hasan 51; Axar Patel 3-68) lost to India 314 and 145/7 (R Ashwin 42*, Shreyas Iyer 29*; by three wickets (Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 5-63, Shakib Al Hasan, 2-50).