Image Credit- Getty
After weather delayed play for two days, a tug-of-war broke out between a disciplined Indian bowling attack and a stubborn Mominul Haque. India took three wickets in the 31 overs of bowling on the fourth morning of the long session, but Mominul went to lunch undefeated on 102, having been given a few opportunities.
The pitch showed evidence of improved carry when the sun shone after several days of cloudy weather, but some deliveries did stay a little low due to the black-soil surface’s intrinsic characteristics. To test Mominul and Mushfiqur Rahim’s patience, Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah started the day by mostly hitting the area around good length, for varied degrees of lift-off. The day’s first five overs included four maidens, and Mushfiqur’s inside edge produced the lone run scored.
For the first four of the day, Bumrah then got an in-ducker to bounce further and take Mushfiqur’s inside edge once more, but this time past leg stump. It deviated 2 centimetres into the batter and landed a decent distance outside and off, according to the broadcast. Bumrah worked his magic on the very next ball, placing it in precisely the same location and making it move in precisely – six centimetres per broadcast. Based on the manner of the last delivery, Mushfiqur chose to stay, but he was taken aback when the ball clipped the off stump, ending his stay.
Shakib Al Hasan was trailed by Litton Das, possibly to keep the left-right batting combination intact. Against the quick bowlers, Rohit Sharma had attacking fields for the whole of the first session, frequently resulting in three slips and two gullies. Additionally, it gave the batsmen adequate space to strike fours, as seen by Litton’s three fours in a Bumrah over and Mominul’s one against each of Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj. After batting at two-drop in the previous game, Mominul batted at No. 3 and amassed a solid half-century.
But Litton’s daring ultimately proved to be his undoing as he lunged at a length ball from Siraj and whacked it high, wide mid-off, where Rohit sprang at the ideal moment to pull off a one-handed blow. Then, Shakib stayed in the middle for just 17 balls, as his attempt to utilise his feet to counter R Ashwin proved to be his downfall. If Siraj hadn’t retreated from mid-off and held onto a diving catch with one hand, he could have gotten away with it.
Despite being brought on in the 12th over of the day, Ravindra Jadeja, who was aiming for his 300th Test wicket, was never given a chance to relax. In addition to using his feet skilfully to lift him straight over and into the nineties with a six, Mominul was glad to try and sweep him as often as he could. Then, on 93 and 95, respectively, Virat Kohli dropped him after diving to his left from a wide first slip, and Rishabh Pant failed to hold on to an under-edge feather, costing him a handful of runs.
As the saying goes, Mominul’s 13th Test century—his first since June 2023 and only his second away from home—was made possible by the sweep. He had scored the majority of the 98 runs that Bangladesh scored in the opening session.