 Indian seamers performed exceptionally well which helped India to restrict Bangladesh to 233 runs but it could have been worst for the Bangladeshi if their lower order batsman Mahmudullah not contributed valuable 96 runs for them. At close of first days play Indians were 69 without loss with Virendra Sehwag batting on 41 runs with Gautam Gambhir batting on 26 runs. The opening day belong to two Indian pacers Ishant Sharma (4/66) and Zaheer Khan (3/62) as they decimated the Bangladesh top and middle order to reduce the hosts to 127 for seven. At this stage they were looking like having bowled out for below 150 but Mahmudullah once again came fighting hard for them and he went on to add another 106 runs with the lower order. For the last two wickets he has added 78 runs which guided Bangladesh score to some respectability. Mahmudullah's was a sterling 156-ball knock studded with 13 fours. He must be regret after missing his hundred as he left unbeaten at one end just four short of his maiden test century. With this effort Bangladesh must promote him up the order because he looks far more comfortable against Ishant, Zaheer, Harbhajan and P.Ojha than the other top order batsmen. Bangladesh have only themselves to blame for this situation, as some of their start players like Mohammad Ashraful (39 runs) and Shakib Al Hasan (30 runs) got out to appalling strokes. P.Ojha also picked up three wickets while Harbhajan grabbed the last one. Now it’s up to Indian batsman to make mistake and allow Bangladesh to get back into the game. But by seeing the strokes making of Sehwag and Gambhir during 13 overs of play, it’s look like they are in hurry to wipe out the 164-run deficit and then push for a big total to bat the hosts out of the match and complete a 2-0 rout in the series. Match Summary (Day1 Stump) Bangladesh 1st Inning– 242/10 in 65.2 Overs Mahmudullah- 96* Md.Ashraful– 39 Ishant Sharma- 18-3-66-4 Zaheer Khan– 19-3-62-3 India 1st Inning– 69/0 in 13 Overs V.Sehwag- 41* G.Gambhir– 26 Shakib Al Hasan–3-0-15-0 S.Hossain- 3-0-10-0 |
