After an intense battle on the field for four days, India managed to beat Bangladesh by three wickets in the second Test, which took place in Dhaka. KL Rahul’s Indian team chased down the target of 145 runs in the first session of the fourth day’s play to win the second red-ball game in a row and secure another Test series win over Bangladesh. India has never lost a Test match against its Asian opponents.
The hosts came close to securing their first ever win over India in Test matches on Sunday morning when they reduced India to 74 for seven in reply to a 145-run target. But Shreyas Iyer (29 not out) and Player of the Match Ravichandran Ashwin (42 not out) spoiled their plan by adding an unbeaten 71 runs for the eighth wicket and helping India reach the target.
India finished the game just before lunch on Day 4. Ashwin smashed two back-to-back boundaries on the last two deliveries of the 47th over, which was bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. During his stay at the crease, he faced a total of 62 deliveries and smashed four fours and one six. He won the Player of the Match award, whereas the Player of the Series award went to Cheteshwar Pujara. The red-ball specialist scored 90 and 102 not out in the first Test.
The series win over Bangladesh was KL Rahul’s first series win as captain of the Indian Test team. And like his predecessors, he also passed on the winner’s trophy to his teammates after collecting it. In a heartwarming gesture, he gave the trophy to comeback man Jaydev Unadkat, who played his second Test after a gap of more than 12 years.
The Saurashtra pacer was included in the team as a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami and featured in the playing XI of the 2nd Test in place of Kuldeep Yadav, who was surprisingly left out.
By securing a win over Bangladesh in the two-match series, India gave a boost to its chances of reaching the World Test Championship final.
