It was a run-fest at Hyderabad on Day 2 of one-off Test between India and Bangladesh. They need a miracle in their batting department in order to avoid follow on. India were able to score 321 runs in 76 overs on Day Two. But the highlight of the day was Virat Kohli scoring his fourth double century and breaking several records in doing so. The main highlights from today’s game are-
Virat Kohli’s optimum utilisation of DRS
Kohli is in a zone where he cannot do anything wrong. After declaring, Bangladeshi openers were looking good in the middle until Umesh Yadav got introduced into the attack. Yadav’s delivery which seemed to be going past the bat to naked eyes caught Kohli’s attention. No one appealed included Wriddhiman Saha and Yadav. Kohli immediately used DRS, it turned out to be a definitive edge from the bottom of the bat.
Kohli did the same in batting as well, he was given out when off-spinner Mehedi Hasan hit the pads of the skipper. Umpire raised his finger straightaway but Kohli refused to leave the field and used DRS. It turned out that the ball was missing the leg stump and he survived. He went on to reach his fourth double century.
It seems like that after a series of failed review in England series, Kohli has finally learnt the art of using DRS judiciously from former skipper MS Dhoni.
Saha-Jadeja piled on runs
Wriddhiman Saha got lucky at the start of his innings. Saha shifted gears as soon as he got settled in. He with Jadeja went after the bowlers. As a result, India scored their fifth-highest innings total in Tests. Saha-Jadeja put on 118 runs for the seventh wicket. They made Bangladeshi bowlers wish that Virat Kohli declares the innings.
Bangladesh’s sloppy fielding
Mushfiqur Rahim missed a stumping chance of Saha when he was batting on 4. Saha went on to score a century after he was spared his wicket early on in his innings. Bangladesh fielders dropped two catches as well, one of Ajinkya Rahane and second, of Jadeja.
Virat Kohli broke records at a premium
Kohli became the first batsman to score centuries in four consecutive series breaking Sir Don Bradman’s previous record of three. He became the first Indian skipper to score three double centuries in a season.
Poor captaincy from Mushfiqur Rahim
Introducing Shakib Al Hasan in the first session alongside Taskin Ahmed made no sense. He let Kohli-Rahane off the hook, whatever pressure Taskin created was nullified by Shakib at the other end. At times Rahim’s tactics became too defensive which led to India pounding runs in every session of Day 2.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 41/1 (Tamim Iqbal 24, Soumya Sarkar 15; Umesh Yadav 1 for 2) trail by India 687/6 (Virat Kohli 204, Murali Vijay 108; Taijul Islam 3 for 156, Mehedi Hasan 2 for 165) 646 runs
