India thrash Bangladesh by 188 runs in the first Test, take a 1-0 lead in the series

India sealed a dominant 188-run victory over Bangladesh on the final day of the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong to go 1-0 up in the two-match Test series, on Sunday.

Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel along with pace bowler Mohammed Siraj took out the remaining four wickets as India bowled out Bangladesh within 60 minutes on day five to defeat the hosts in the first match of the series.

With this win, India have taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, with KL Rahul getting his first win as a Test captain. Despite Bangladesh fighting hard to delay the inevitable, thanks to Zakir Hasan’s 100 off 224 balls with thirteen fours and one six and skipper Shakib Al Hasan’s 84 off 108 balls with six fours and as many maximums, others didn’t last long as they were bowled out for 324 in 113.2 overs.

For India, left-arm spinner Axar took 4/77 in the second innings, while Kuldeep picked 3/73 in 20 overs, followed by Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravichandran Ashwin taking a wicket each.

This win has also boosted India’s chances of reaching the World Test Championship final for the second successive time as they went past Sri Lanka and South Africa to be second in the table with 55.77 points percentage.

India now have another five Tests in this WTC cycle, and if they win four of those, they will guarantee themselves another appearance in the final. Australia continues to remain at the top with 76.92 points percentage after defeating South Africa by 6 wickets on Day 2 of the first Test at Brisbane, on Sunday.

WHAT. A. WIN! 👏👏#TeamIndia put on an impressive show to win the first #BANvIND Test by 188 runs 🙌🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/CVZ44N7IRe pic.twitter.com/Xw9jFgtsnm

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 18, 2022

Resuming from 272/6 on Day 5, Mehidy Hasan Miraz began his innings with a beautiful cover drive for four off Mohammed Siraj, while Shakib slog-swept Axar for a six over deep square leg. However, Mehidy soon was dismissed as he again tried to go for a drive against Siraj but this time on a slightly wide ball and ended up hitting straight to backward point.

Shakib completed his fifty in an aggressive fashion, dancing down the pitch and lofting over long-on for six off Axar. Shakib pulled bouncers off Mohammed Siraj twice over long-on and fine leg for two fours and six respectively.

After smashing a six over mid-wicket by dancing down the pitch to Axar, Shakib swept hard against Kuldeep through mid-wicket. However, On the last ball of the over, Kuldeep finally ended Shakib’s attack at 84 as he got one to go past the attempted sweep to hit the top of the middle stump.

Kuldeep took another wicket when Ebadot Hossain flicked off a leg-break straight to Shreyas Iyer fielding at forward short leg before Axar took the last wicket of Taijul Islam by hitting the off stump to seal a big win for India.

For India, there were many heroes in the 188-run win, starting from fifties by Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer and Ashwin, along with Kuldeep’s 40 which helped them to take their first innings total to 404 after being 48/3 at one point.

In the first innings, Siraj took 3/20 to dismiss the Bangladesh top-order with his fiery pace while Kuldeep took 5/40 to bowl them out for 150. With a massive 254-run lead, India chose not to follow on and batted again in their second innings, with Pujara and Shubman Gill scoring respective centuries.

Gill smashed 110 off 152 balls with ten fours and three sixes to bring up his first Test hundred while Pujara scored his fastest Test century and remained unbeaten on 102 off 130 deliveries, smashing thirteen fours to give Bangladesh a target of 513 after declaring at 258/2 in their second innings.

Chasing a huge total, Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Nazmul Hossain Shanto added a 124-run opening stand as debutant Hasan registered his maiden Test century. But India’s bowlers showed patience on a slow track which had some turn and bounce and finally fought back post lunch on day four to seal the victory.

India’s left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant 40 in the first innings and figures of 5/40 and 3/73 in the first and second innings respectively.

Bangladesh and India will now play the second and final Test of the series from December 22-26 at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, in Mirpur, Dhaka.

Brief Scores: India 404 in 133.5 overs and 258/2 declared in 61.4 overs beat Bangladesh 150 in 55.5 overs and 324 in 113.2 overs (Zakir Hasan 100, Shakib Al Hasan 84; Axar Patel 4/77, Kuldeep Yadav 3/73) by 188 runs