At the close of day three, two young Bangladeshi openers, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Zakir Hasan, helped the hosts reach 42/0 after Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India set a target of 513 for the first Test at Chattogram on Friday.
After bowling out Bangladesh for 150 in the first innings owing to Kuldeep Yadav's third five-wicket haul in his eighth Test, India announced their second innings at 258/2 in 61.4 overs. Pujara hit his first century since January 2019 with a sizzling 102 not out, and Gill smacked a blazing 110, his first 100 in the format.
In the lowering light, Shanto and Zakir, who were targeting 513, did well to successfully negotiate the challenging 12-over phase. The Indian bowlers had a few turn available to them on the wicket, but they'd have to put in a lot of effort with two full days left in the match and Bangladesh trailing by 471 runs.
After a few quiet overs in the earlier in the session, Gill released loose and danced down the pitch after hitting Litton Das for a massive six-over the long-on fence. In 147 deliveries, he completed his first Test century by sending the ball Mehidy Hasan Miraz over mid-on after hitting the off-spinner for a wide with a reverse sweep.
In Mehidy's following over, Gill danced down the wicket and lofted over long-on for six, but in an endeavour to get another six, he holed out to deep mid-wicket. Pujara drove down the pitch to loft himself over again and earned his fifty in the same over.
In opposition to spinners, Pujara frequently sank the field to slice, swim, and loft over mid-on and mid-off. When Mehidy bowled short, he soon moved to the back foot, hammered through the right side of mid-off, and then dragged out the sweep to catch two boundaries.
In a knock in which his penultimate 52 runs came in just 43 balls after collecting his fifty in 86, Taijul shattered his Test century wait by running down the track to another blast past mid-on for a boundary. Yasir Ali's short toss was addressed by Pujara with a wonderful pull through fine-leg.
Where to watch India vs. Bangladesh's first test:–
Sony Sports Network will telecast the first Test series between Bangladesh and India. On the SonyLiv app, users can also watch the event live streaming.
Plans for India on SonyLiv
© Vygr Media Private Limited 2022. All Rights Reserved
