Bangladesh suffered a disastrous defeat in the first match of the two-match series against India in Chattogram. They were unable to display the batting prowess that is essential for a successful Test match performance.The hosts needed a marathon effort in order to draw the match or triumphantly reach 241 runs with only four remaining wickets. In the end, this proved to be an insurmountable task. In pursuit of an imposing 513 runs in the fourth innings of the match, Bangladesh fell short with a final score of 324, having started from a paltry 150 in the first innings — thus resulting in a humiliating 188-run defeat.
Zakir Hasan, the left-handed batter, delivered a stunning debut century, while Shakib Al Hasan scored 84. Najmul Hossain Shanto rebounded brilliantly from a first-ball duck in the first innings by notching 67; unfortunately, the rest of the Bangladeshi batters were unable to stand firm against the relentless Indian bowling attack. Axar Patel was the best bowler for the visiting team in the second innings, taking four wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with three of his own.
In the initial innings of the match, India mustered up 404 runs after winning the toss. Cheteshwar Pujara was the star of the batting show with a well-composed 90, while Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin also added to the run tally with respective scores of 86 and 58. For Bangladesh, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagged four wickets each.
In response, Bangladesh crumbled to 150 all-out. The Bangladeshi batsmen were flummoxed by the quality spin of Kuldeep, who scalped five wickets for 40 runs, while Mohammad Siraj also made his presence felt with three wickets of his own. In their second innings of the match, India declared at 258 for two with Shubman Gill registering his maiden Test century and Pujara notching up yet another ton.
Ultimately, they set an immense target of 513 runs for Bangladesh, with only five sessions to attempt a miraculous chase. This total was uncharted territory for Bangladesh in the fourth innings of a Test match. Kuldeep rightly earned the player of the match accolade for his stellar eight-wicket haul in the match.The second and concluding Test of the series will commence in Dhaka on December 22nd.
