India 314 (Pant 93, Iyer 87, Taijul 4-74, Shakib 4-79) and 145 for 7 (Ashwin 42*, Axar 34, Mehidy 5-63) beaten Bangladesh 227 (Mominul 84, Umesh 4-25, Ashwin 4-71) and 231 (Litton 73, Zakir 51, Axar 3-68) by seven wickets
India cemented their second place on the WTC table with the 2-0 series win and have a four-Test run at home to Australia, which they can afford to lose just one game for. don’t lose last place.
India were in deep trouble in the first hour at 74 for 7, still 71 from target, when Iyer and Ashwin met. Iyer used his right bat to play the spinners patiently and Ashwin used a low stance for the low rebound, especially against Mehidy as the Bangladesh spinners held to a stump-to-stump line that had netted them three wickets on morning.
Mehidy even created a chance when Ashwin was on 1 and India on 80, when Ashwin gloved the ball on the short leg where Mominul Haque put a direct chance. Much like Bangladesh made India pay for lost chances on Saturday, Ashwin enjoyed the life he had and resumed regular limits once he moved into double digits. He collected two in an over from Khaled Ahmed and finished things off in a 16-run over from Mehidy that started with a first ball six over midwicket and ended with a back-to-back four, bringing Ashwin at an undefeated 42 of 62 while Iyer was on 29 at the other end.
Bangladesh had taken the lead with an early advantage in a dramatic first hour that saw few limits, many calls, two revisions and three wickets.
Jaydev Unadkat survived a very marginal lbw call on the third ball of the day and Bangladesh’s review showed the ball just hit the stump of his leg which was not enough to overturn the decision on the pitch . Unadkat swept the very next ball for six over midwicket but fell in the next when Shakib Al Hasan slipped a quick around the wicket to trap it just ahead on the back foot and Unadkat lost a critical.
Mehidy then struck out two left-handed batters in back-to-back overs for his eighth five-for Test. Rishabh Pant, at No. 7, unleashed a reverse sweep early on against Shakib for four but also looked nervous while stepping out too often against spinners or stepping dangerously on the back foot against a tight turn. Mehidy rolled down the fourth stump line consistently towards him from the wicket and threw a slightly shorter one to trap Pant on the back foot for 9.
Shakib replaced himself with Taijul Islam to keep the left arm spinning threat up and down and Iyer and Ashwin kept their bats close to the pads and leaned forward to patiently block the ball in a spell no limit of 67 balls. With two hitters on the right now, Mehidy’s magic didn’t seem as unplayable now, except for the life Ashwin had. Iyer hit his first four on his 29th ball when Mehidy threw a wide, then came out to drive Shakib inside out for a powerful cover drive followed by a pull for two more fours to quickly bring India over. beyond 100 and change momentum.
When India was 34, Shakib picked up the pace for the first time all day. After conceding a four down the side of the leg, Khaled Ahmed nearly created a chance with Ashwin’s thick edge past a diving gully defender, but it was also for four. Taijul came back, Mehidy tried to round the wicket and Bangladesh maybe hoped the lack of rebound would give them an opening but nothing worked.
Ashwin quickly scored 31 points from the last 34 with the help of four fours and sixes and sent Bangladesh still looking for their first Test victory against India.
Vishal Dikshit is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo