cricket

Updated: Nov 17, 2019 08:37 IST

Such was the dominant nature of the Indian team, that the result of the match was never in doubt. It was never in doubt when they shot out Bangladesh for 150 in the first innings, it was never in doubt when they absolutely flew to 493/6 on the second day and it was never in doubt when they declared the innings first thing on the third morning. The biggest question gaping at Bangladesh was whether or not they would be able to drag this match to the fourth day, but once the Indian bowlers wrapped their fingers around the ball, even this was never in doubt.

Also Read: India vs Bangladesh 1st Test Day 3 Highlights: As it happened

Pace, bounce, movement, accuracy and hostility -the trio of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami stepped up and shunted away Bangladesh. Before they could even blink and fathom what was happening, they had lost three wickets. There was resistance offered by Mushfiqur Rahim, first with Liton Das and then with Mehidy Hasan, but it was just that - resistance.

Virat Kohli loves to attack with his seamers and he cannot stop gushing over them - so when he kept them on for 23 overs straight in the morning session, no one was surprised. However, this happened for the first time since 2001 and the trip ripped the heart out of Bangladesh batting.

When the three were joking and passing tongue-in-cheek comments at one another after the match, it all seemed to make sense - India’s fast bowlers average 15.82 in 2019. So, when the ball went soft and when there was no assistance, they smirked at one another in each other’s follow-through, pointed fingers and started going short. When Mushfiqur was trying to salvage something with Taijul Islam, Shami was relentless and after bowling two overs of length ball, he banged one in short and Taijul had no place to go, but to glove it.

Also Read: Mayank Agarwal is racing and he is coming for all of you

Mushfiqur was dropped by Rohit when he was on 4, but barring that he looked solid and showed that if you stick around the conditions get easy, the ball gets soft and the pitch settles down. He played close to his body, left balls outside the off-stump and played the odd aggressive stroke. He showed that had the Bangladesh top order shown a little bit more restraint, they could have stretched India. All a matter of had been!

Shami is bowling like a dream, hence, his performance will make all the headlines. Getting the ball to seam just enough, getting the ball to move just enough, his performance in the second innings encapsulated the performance of the Indian pacers. In a land where batsmen are adored, the Indian trio made sure people talk less about Mayank Agarwal who peeled 243 with the bat. Neither will Mayank complain, nor will India.

Also Read: Shami becomes the most successful bowler in 2nd innings in last 2 years

And then there is the pink ball Test and if reports and assessments are to be believed, the ball is expected to hoop around even more. Well, Indian bowlers do not need to extra assistance, Bangladesh sure need to regroup. They showed fight at the day paced along, but too many mistakes were committed too frequently too soon and this is where they slipped.

On to Eden Gardens now!