Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud dismantled India’s top order with a fiery spell of pace bowling, leaving India struggling at 34/3 in the early overs of their innings. The first Test match between India and Bangladesh started earlier today, on September 19. Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bowl first.
The first breakthrough came in the 6th over when Indian captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 6 runs from 19 balls. Mahmud delivered a perfect length ball that edged off Rohit’s bat and found its way into Najmul Hossain Shanto’s hands at second slip. This crucial wicket left India at 14/1.
Shubman Gill, coming at number 3, fell soon after, with Mahmud once again the destructor. Gill, who had scored 0 from 8 deliveries, attempted to flick a ball down leg but got a faint edge. Liton Das moved swiftly to his left behind the stumps, taking an easy catch and leaving India in deep trouble at 28/2.
Virat Kohli, coming in to stabilise the innings, couldn’t escape Mahmud’s sharp bowling either. In the 10th over, Mahmud delivered a ball that lured Kohli into a drive, only for a slight outside edge to be caught by Liton Das once more. Kohli departed for 6 off 6 balls, leaving India reeling at 34/3 inside the first 10 overs.
With India’s key batters back in the pavilion, Team India face an uphill battle to recover from this disastrous start against a relentless Bangladesh bowling attack led by Hasan Mahmud.
While writing this article, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is still at the crease. He has scored 20 off 37 balls. He is joined by Rishabh Pant, whose last appearance in Test cricket before this was in December 2022, also against Bangladesh. Pant is batting at 8 off 11 balls.
A meme fest has started on social media after India’s top order crumbled against Bangladesh. Let’s take a look at some of the posts: