Akash two-in-two sends Bangladesh in disarray after India post 376

Day 2 – Session 2: Bangladesh trail by 297 runs.

Current RR: 3.16

 • Min. Ov. Rem: 51

 • Last 10 ov (RR): 26/0 (2.60)

ReportIndia reduced Bangladesh to 26 for 3 at lunch after Mahmud had earlier bagged a five-wicket haul

Akash Deep was on a hat-trick before lunch  •  BCCI

Lunch Bangladesh 26 for 3 (Akash 2-5, Bumrah 1-10) trail India 376 (Ashwin 113, Jadeja 86, Mahmud 5-83, Taskin 3-55) by 350 runs

Bangladesh managed to get out of the frying pan with four quick wickets to bowl India out, but jumped straight into the fire as India tested them thoroughly in the nine overs possible before lunch on the second morning in Chennai. Jasprit Bumrah struck the top of off in the first over, and Akash Deep, a bowler similar to Hasan Mahmud who took a five-wicket haul for Bangladesh, narrowly missed out on a hat-trick in the last over before lunch.

The brief period before the break was a lesson for the Bangladesh fast bowlers in how to use helpful conditions. In much more favourable conditions, two of the Bangladesh fast bowlers wasted the new ball on day one whereas all three India fast bowlers were all over the good length like a cheap suit. There was just enough moisture in the pitch for the ball to seam around to get them three wickets in nine overs.

Bumrah began over the wicket to the two left-hand openers, but went around for the last ball. Shadman Islam left him on length, probably because all the last five balls had moved away, but this pitched and seamed back in to knock him over. Zakir Hasan survived an lbw call that both the umpire and the India captain misjudged, but Akash proved to be too good for him and Mominul Haque.

The first over from Akash, immediately around the wicket, wasn’t the greatest, but in his second he got the ball to seam in from a good length just outside off. Zakir was beaten completely while Mominul managed to get his pad in line only for the ball to ricochet into the wicket. He would have been lbw anyway. Mushfiqur Rahim edged the hat-trick ball towards gully but it fell short.

The first half of the session wasn’t as frenetic, but was dramatic enough. Taskin Ahmed was much better with the second new ball, taken at the start of the day, than he was with the first. Despite a dropped catch, India could add only 37 to their overnight score of 339 for 6.

Taskin hit the good length regularly, getting Ravindra Jadeja’s edge on his overnight score of 86. Akash had an eventful stay at the wicket: edges, a drop, two spanking shots, and a score of 17 off 30 before he misjudged length and ended up skying Taskin to mid-off. R Ashwin, too, fell trying to go over mid-off but toe-ending a wide one for 113. Mahmud then came back to draw a thick edge from Bumrah and drop to his knees for a sajda for his second five-for in successive Tests.

Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo

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