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Ravichandran Ashwin weaved his magic and raised hopes of a result with his two wickets at the end of an action-packed Day 4 of the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Green Park.
Monday turned out to be an entertaining affair for cricket fans all over the world. Despite losing more than two days of play due to rain and a wet outfield, India showed intent and tried to push for the result. In 85 overs that were bowled in the entire day, a total of 437 runs were scored, and 18 wickets were scythed, summing up the action-packed play that was on offer in Kanpur. After India declared and managed to take a 52-run lead, Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam stepped up at the crease, looking to see off the day with minimum damage. However, skipper Rohit Sharma didn't waste time and brought his ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin straight into the attack. He immediately got his rewards by trapping Zakir in front of the stumps with a flighted delivery. Bangladesh sent Hasan Mahmud as the nightwatchman with a couple of overs left. On his second delivery, he found the boundary rope with a half-volley, driving Bangladesh's score. Akash Deep, at the other end, lured Shadman to force out an edge from him. The ball went straight to KL Rahul at the third slip but didn't stay in his safe hands, giving Shadman a lifeline. Ashwin continued to inflich his charm with his crafty spinning deliveries. He tossed it up perfectly, giving Hasan an invitation to go after the delivery. He accepted the invitation and went for a big swing, allowing the ball to sneak past the gap and crash into the stumps. Akash Deep returned, bowled the final over of the day, and brought the enticing affair to its conclusion before Day 5. Despite losing two wickets in the second session, India continued to go all guns blazing with a simple aim in mind, piling runs on the board. Wickets continued to topple, with Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill losing their wickets while attempting to put runs on the board. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul provided much-needed stability while keeping the run rate in check. With some classic drives and strokeplay, India maintained their aim of putting runs on the board at a brisk pace. Rahul used switch hits to effective use, while Kohli put conventional shots on display effortlessly during their 87-run partnership. Kohli tried to play Shakib Al Hasan across the line and lost his wicket for a score of 47(35), falling three runs shy of a fift Rahul stayed on the crease and continued to rely on sweep and reverse sweeps to accumulate runs by rotating the strike and picking the boundary rope. On the other end, Akash Deep went straight and flawlessly executed back-to-back towering maximums, leaving Shakib Al Hasan clueless and Rohit Sharma as well as Virat all smiles. India continued to lose wickets as batters tried to go relentlessly for the boundaries. Rahul lost his wicket after he came down the track and attempted to adjust and play a cut shot. He missed the line of the skidding delivery and departed with a score of 68. Following Rahul's dismissal, India decided to declare 285/9 with a 52-run lead. At Tea, India stood at 138/2, with Shubman Gill (37) and Rishabh Pant (4) unbeaten on the crease. Bangladesh lost quick wickets in the second session of day four and ended their first inning at 233. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja picked up the final four wickets in Bangladesh's first inning and let India come and bat. The India skipper and Jaiswal displayed a fiery knock in the second session to overpower the Bangladesh score before the end of the day's play. India's opening duo started hitting from the first ball of their inning. Jaiswal smashed Hasan Mahmud's three fours in the first over, giving his team a total of 12 runs. In the next over by Khaled Ahmed, Rohit started by launching him for two sixes, and Jaiswal hit the final ball for a four, getting 17 runs from the over. Hasan was once again at the receiving end of the punishment from the fiery Indian duo in the third over as a six from Rohit and a six with two fours from Jaiswal helped India cross the 50-run mark in just 3 overs, the fastest ever in Test cricket. The stand of 55 runs ended in 3.5 overs, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz cleaning up Rohit for a quickfire 23 in 11 balls, with four and three sixes. At that time, the scoring rate of these two was 14.34 runs per over, the highest scoring rate in a Test partnership with a minimum of 50 runs, outdoing the England duo of Ben Stokes and Ben Duckett, who stitched a stand of 87 in just 44 balls against the West Indies at Edgbaston this year, scoring at a rate of 11.86 runs per over. However, Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the fourth over by Mehidy Hasan Miraz for 23 runs from 11 balls. Jaiswal slammed his fifty in the ninth over. The youngster took 31 balls to etch his name on the record book. He became the fourth Indian cricketer to score the fastest 50s for India in Tests. Hasan Mahmud was successful in dismissing the dangerous Jaiswal in the 15th over for 72 runs from 51 balls. After some positive cricket by Shadman Islam (24 in 36 balls, with four boundaries) and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (31 in 57 balls, with six fours), Mominul kept the Bangladesh inning together with his 13th Test ton, battling bravely against spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. He stitched a 54-run stand with Mehidy Hasan Miraz (20), which took Bangladesh to 233/10. Brief Scores: Bangladesh: 233 & 26/2 (Shadman Islam 7*, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/14) vs India: 285/9 d (Yashasvi Jaiswal 72, KL Rahul 68; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 4/41). (ANI)
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