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[Saba Sports News] India staged a remarkable comeback on Day 1 of the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
After being reduced to 144 for 6 post-lunch, Ravichandran Ashwin, fresh off his 38th birthday, and Ravindra Jadeja combined for a resilient unbeaten partnership of 195 runs, lifting India to 339 for 6 by Stumps.
Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud caused early damage, removing Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli within the first hour.
Despite a brief rebuilding effort from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, India faltered again, with KL Rahul also departing soon after.
However, Ashwin and Jadeja turned the tide with Ashwin reaching his sixth Test century in just 108 balls, equaling MS Dhoni’s tally of Test tons.
This knock also marked Ashwin’s second century at his home ground and his fastest in Test cricket. The 195-run stand is now the highest for India’s seventh wicket or lower against Bangladesh, surpassing the previous record of 133 between Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan in 2004.
Ashwin’s century left Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Sourav Ganguly in awe. It also emulated Tendulkar’s feat of scoring back-to-back centuries at Chepauk, a ground where Ashwin first notched up a hundred in 2021.
Ashwin now ranks second in Test centuries scored at No. 8 or below, trailing only New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori.