India captain Rohit Sharma conceded they took a risk trying to force a result in the rain-truncated second Test against Bangladesh and was pleased it paid off resulting in a memorable victory in Kanpur.
A draw loomed large over the match after two-and-a-half days were lost to bad weather in Kanpur with only 35 overs played in the first three days at the Green Park Stadium.
Even after India bowled out Bangladesh for 233 on day four, few expected a result until India came out to bat for the first time.
Opener Rohit himself led from front, whacking the first two balls he faced for sixes and India went on to eclipse Bangladesh’s total in 28 overs scoring at a rate unprecedented in Test cricket.
By the end of day four, India declared their innings on 285-9 and even removed both the Bangladesh openers.
On Tuesday, they claimed the remaining eight Bangladesh wickets in an extended morning session bundling out the tourists for 146.
Needing 95 to win, India lost three wickets before overwhelming the target with more than a session to go.
“We had to think a lot how the game can keep moving forward,” Rohit said of their race against time to win the match.
“When we came on day four, we wanted to get them out as early as possible and see what we can do with the bat.
“The pitch didn’t have much for bowlers but to get a game out of that pitch was a great effort from the bowlers, and the batters bought into that thought of … scoring as quickly as possible.
“It was a risk that we were willing to take… when you are trying to bat like that, it’s very easy to get bundled out for a low score as well. Even if we got all out for 150, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to get a result.”
It was breathtaking batting on Monday as India reached 50 in three overs, 100 in 10.1 overs, and 200 in 24.2 overs — the fastest ever by a test team.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said his batters needed to do better.
“We didn’t bat well,” said Shanto, who had arrived in India on a high his team’s 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan last month.
“If you look at our batters, they played 30-40 balls and then got out.
“It’s important for one batsman to get big runs.”
On Tuesday. India spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Jasprit Bumrah wreaked havoc in the extended morning session when Bangladesh lost eight wickets to be bowled out for a paltry 146 in their second innings.
It left India needing 95 and they did it with more than a session to spare.
Yashasvi Jaiswal led their chase with a fluent 51 while Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 29 as India registered a record-extending 18th consecutive Test series victory on home soil.
Bangladesh suffered an early blow after resuming on 26-2 on the final day.
Ravichandran Ashwin (3-50) claimed his third wicket when he had Mominul Haque caught in the leg slip for two.
Shadman Islam (50) and skipper Shanto (19) offered resistance with a 55-run stand before poor shot selection and smart bowling changes by India led to their dismissals.
Jadeja (3-34) bowled Shanto after the batter fluffed a reverse sweep and Shadman completed his fifty before edging seamer Akash Deep to Yashasvi Jaiswal at slip.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja removed Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan in successive overs and seamer Bumrah sent back Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Mushfiqur Rahim (37) hung around for a bit before Bumrah (3-17) removed him with the final delivery of the session.
India lost Rohit and Gill cheaply but Jaiswal’s second half-century of the match sealed victory with a session to spare.