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Moments after being dismissed on the fifth day of the second Kanpur Test, Mominul Haque sat in the Bangladeshi dressing room with a vacant expression on his face. During this Test series, in which India has thoroughly outthought Bangladesh, such vacant looks have been a regular sight among the visitors.
In the early innings, Mominul had made good use of the sweep to score an undefeated 107. However, Rohit Sharma made an aggressive move by moving KL Rahul to a leg-slip on the second dig. The fielding move paid off for India within three balls, as the sweep knocked Mominul down.
In the last twelve years, India has been virtually unstoppable at home. However, this has prevented complacency from entering their system. Rather, they have given the impression of a well-organised staff that, above all, carries out its plans precisely. That being said, Bangladesh’s response to their approach was unsatisfactory.
Mominul’s sweep stroke was deemed acceptable by Bangladesh’s head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, but he expressed disappointment with his team’s decision-making and execution on the fifth day in Kanpur.
Mominul’s decision to step into India’s trap was representative of Bangladesh’s hitters in this Test match. In general, they have fallen into three categories. The Bangladeshi batsmen also hurriedly attacked a bowler early in his session, and there were moments when they lost focus after winning a little skirmish. However, India’s well-thought-out traps were one thing. In Kanpur, there were instances of all three on the fifth day.
Mushfiqur’s dismissal in the first innings of the Test series in Kanpur was one of three times he was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah, although it was a well-planned strategy. In order to stop Mushfiqur from playing during away-going deliveries, he packed the slip cordon. Then, Bumrah came in with a length ball that Mushfiqur left looking like he was leaving the other deliveries.
Not just Mushfiqur, who was more seasoned, fell for these kinds of schemes. India attempted to force Rohit to perform above and beyond the norm when Litton Das gave him a catch at mid-off during the first innings. Though Rohit made a fantastic catch, Litton’s stroke was premeditated; he could have easily countered Mohammed Siraj’s spell by charging the bowler.
The batters from Bangladesh were also rushing things. It’s possible that they didn’t want the Indian bowlers to carry out their schemes, but their shot selection seemed odd. Najmul Hossain Shanto, the skipper, mishandled the opening ball he faced from Ravindra Jadeja on the fifth day in Kanpur. The shot, which seemed pointless at the time, caused a collapse following a fourth-wicket stand of 55 runs.
In both Tests, it was equally painful to fall soon after ending a decent spell or after batting well for a brief while. In Kanpur, Mushfiqur attempted to slog Bumrah off the final delivery prior to lunch, which resulted in Bangladesh’s final wicket.
Shadman Islam had earlier been dismissed shortly after reaching his fifty-seven, with Sunil Gavaskar claiming on air that the opener had played a shot of a hitter who became complacent after hitting a significant score. He commented that Shadman might not have played the shot, having demonstrated control against deliveries outside the off stump all morning, if he hadn’t achieved his fifty.
What disappointed me in the two Tests was Bangladesh’s lack of fight. They officially lost in less than two days in Kanpur, but they lost in three and a half days in Chennai. After an incredible 2-0 victory over Pakistan, they had flown to India.
Although Bangladesh’s 2-0 loss to India doesn’t necessarily negate their strong performance in Pakistan, it does highlight the fact that they are still unable to regularly compete against elite teams. Although they weren’t predicted to win 2-0 in Pakistan, they gave it their all on the pitch. They, however, couldn’t survive India’s heightened challenge, and now have to go back to the drawing board before the home series against South Africa later this month.