Riding on a mesmerising bowling effort by the bowlers, India have wreaked havoc on Bangladesh by reducing them to 140 for 7 before the tea break.
On Thursday, Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque won the toss and opted to bat first at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore which fancied a grassy track. The decision soon turned out to be a wrong one as Bangladesh lost early wickets and were 31 for 3 at one point. However, Haque (22*) along with wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (14*) added another 32 runs and ensured that the Bangla Tigers don’t suffer any further damage by lunch.
For India, the trio of Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami didn’t let the visitors settle by claiming the wickets of Imrul Kayes (6), Shadman Islam (6) and Mohammad Mithun (13), respectively.
After this, Ashwin joined the party and took the wickets of Haque (37) and Mahmudullah (10).
Meanwhile, Ashwin equalled Muttiah Muralitharan’s record to become the joint-fastest bowler to take 250 Test wickets at home. He achieved the feat in his 42nd match.
Here is the list of players who took fewest Tests to claim 250 wickets at home:
42 – Muttiah Muralitharan/ R Ashwin
43 – Anil Kumble
44 – Rangana Herath
49 – Dale Steyn
51 – Harbhajan Singh
Later in the match, Shami carried his impeccable form to claim two wickets in the last two balls of his over. First, he dismissed well-set Mushfiqur Rahim (43) and then the newcomer Mehidy Hasan. The bowler has a chance to take a hat-trick in case he strikes on the very first ball of his next over after tea.
India would have had more wickets in their kitty, had they converted some opportunities.