Image Credit- BCCI
Lunchtime is here. There is silence among the throng. perhaps even indifference. Many of them have arrived sporting shirts signed by Virat Kohli. There are already plans for The Silence when he fell to appear as a guest star in the upcoming Quiet Place film.
It doesn’t take much for R Ashwin to bring this area to life.
It’s almost the end of day’s play. There has been a slight improvement in India’s score, which now stands at 329 for 6.
Ashwin is not in the office. Still ninety-nine. In circumstances that are, to put it bluntly, unusual for the opening of a new Test season in India, he clips one of the easier balls he’s had to face for a single. Throughout the course of the 80 overs of play, fast bowlers have claimed five of the six wickets that have fallen. They have also found sideways movement. The spinner should not be out today. However, it did turn into a day for the best spin-bowling duo in India. As the cheering never stops, Ashwin punches Ravindra Jadeja’s gloves on his way to the other end.
When Ashwin entered the batting order, India was 144 for 6. Bangladesh was not quite as gracious as they had been in the morning session, when they had let some of their fine work slide. Both ends of the pressure were applied. Due to his ability to get the red ball to nip both ways, Hasan Mahmud has entered a rarefied realm that is only shared by Dale Steyn.
This was not the spinner’s day. Ashwin went from 1 to 5 by effortlessly blocking a 142 kph delivery from Nahid Rana in front of the wicket. He had already experienced this day.
There aren’t many centuries by No. 8 and lower-ranking Indian batters. Merely 19. Only two of those had endured more difficult circumstances. In his 2010 match against New Zealand, Harbhajan Singh scored 115 after entering with a 65 for 6, while in his 2021 match against England, Ashwin scored 106.
Here were a few number one songs. Mahmud’s majestic, on-the-up cover drive on ball one swiftly removed the possibility that he might have been out the previous ball. Another, a cheeky little upper cut off Nahid Rana, replaced all recollection of how he was unable to avoid getting in the way of a Taskin Ahmed bouncer earlier. He had given two shots particular attention.
India has maintained an unblemished home record over the past 12 years thanks in large part to their lower-middle order, which has been the difference in multiple Test matches. The skipper, Rohit Sharma, was the most laid-back person in the dressing room, taking in some of the action while reclining on the ground.
Despite the fact that they would play five significant Test matches in Australia at the conclusion of the season, it has been discovered that neither the BCCI nor the team management requested seamer-friendly conditions for this series. Nevertheless, the authorities prepared this pitch with great care.
Ashwin couldn’t have been happier for the way he had been tested. “I think it’s the old Chennai surface with a bit of bounce and carry. The red-soil pitch allows you to play a few shots. If you’re willing to get in line and sort of, whenever there’s width, if you can give it a bit of a tonk, it really helps. I love playing when there is bounce and carry so yeah, really enjoyed myself today.”
India reached 339 for 6 thanks to two partnerships that were notable for the lack of consideration for regressing. Yashasvi Jaiswal demonstrated this point rather literally by walking straight towards Mahmud, forcing him to decrease his length and preventing him from getting the movement he was so good at getting, even from a starting position well in front of his crease.
When Rishabh Pant was out and about, he looked amazing. After Bangladesh had easily dispatched three right-handers, he was sent in ahead of KL Rahul to pose a fresh challenge by bowling at two left-handers. India was in turmoil, but they were completely turned on, and that had a significant impact.
By the conclusion, Ashwin and Jadeja were scoring at a rate of almost one run per ball, enjoying the kind of spin bowling that no one was ever going to find problematic on the first day on this pitch.
The crowd in Chennai was delighted. It’s doubtful Ashwin, 38, will take the pitch for another Test match in front of them. His family was present. Here were his friends. When he hit 100, he saluted every one of them, starting in the dressing area and moving to every corner. Two days after his birthday, this was always going to be his day.