Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckons India found different heroes at different times in the opening Test match against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The hosts registered a huge win of 280 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Rohit Sharma-led team came up with a collective effort as they ticked the right boxes. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja scored 113 and 86 runs respectively before Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 56 in the first innings to help India post 376 runs on the board after they were reeling at 144-6 at one stage.
Subsequently, Jasprit Bumrah bagged four wickets as the Tigers were bundled out for 149 runs. In the second innings, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant scored 119 and 109 runs respectively to stretch India’s lead to 514.
Ravichandran Ashwin once again delivered, this time with the ball as he returned with impressive figures of 6-88 in the second essay.
“The big takeaway for me was that you got stuck because you lost the toss and there was help on the pitch for the fast bowlers and you were 34/3 but who saved you from there? That was a challenge. You first got Rishabh Pant there and Yashasvi Jaiswal was there with him. They had a partnership and took you to a decent score,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Yashasvi had an important role as he stayed at one end. Rishabh Pant’s 39 was very important, which might not be talked about that much. After that, you became 144/6, but there Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, one scored a hundred and the other 86. If you make a comeback like that, it means you found different heroes at different times,” the former India opener added.
Bumrah returned with figures of 4-50 in the first innings as Bangladesh was skittled out for a paltry score of 149. The renowned commentator hailed Bumrah as a living legend.
“Once 376 were scored, it was game, set and match. Then the way the fast bowlers bowled in the first innings. Bumrah picked up four wickets. He is great, you can call him a living legend. He missed his five-wicket haul because Siraj picked up the last wicket. Akash Deep picked up two wickets in two balls. Jadeja took two huge wickets,” he said in the same video.
“Then India got stuck once again. They were 67/3 but there again you got two new heroes – Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. Both scored centuries. This Test will be remembered for Rishabh Pant because comeback stories are very difficult,” Chopra observed.
The second Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played at Green Park, Kanpur from September 27.
