2nd Test: Akash rattles Bangladesh’s top order but Shanto, Mominul script strong comeback (Day 1, Lunch)

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 27 (ANI): India’s young pacer Akash Deep makes early inroads, but Bangladesh bounce back with a strong partnership on the opening day of the second Test at Green Park on Friday.

At the end of the first session, Bangladesh posted a score of 74/2 with Mominul Haque and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto unbeaten with scores of 17 and 28, respectively.

Under overcast conditions, ball swinging and plenty of bounce on offer, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj tried to make early inroads by extracting everything that was on offer.

In order to negate the existing threat, Zakir Hasan played the anchor role, with Shadman Islam taking the brunt of piling up runs on the board.

The duo worked well and stayed upbeat despite getting beaten several times by the Indian pace duo. Zakir and Shadman managed to brush off the early threat. They managed to get past the first eight overs with the clouds hovering over Green Park in patches.

The constantly growing partnership forced captain Rohit Sharma to think of a way to find the breakthrough. Rohit changed the tempo by bringing in Ravichandran Ashwin from one end and Akash Deep from the other.

Ashwin tried to create an opening with his variations but couldn’t extract the wicket he was after. Akash, on the other end, hit the deck, enjoyed swing with bounce, and caused Bangladesh a handful of trouble.

In the ninth over, Akash lured Zakir and forced out an edge. The ball flew to gully and the attentive Yashasvi Jaiswal took a stunning catch to get the breakthrough.

He continued to thrive with the new ball and stung Bangladesh back by removing Shadman. A confident appeal from the Indian players was not obliged by the umpire after the ball struck the pad.

Akash convinced Rohit to take the DRS, the skipper obliged, and the decision fell in India’s favour. It seemed as if India would run away with the new rhythm, but skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque brought Bangladesh back into the session.

The duo chose their moments, targeted the loose deliveries, and kept the scoreboard ticking with their unbeaten 45-run partnership. At the end of the session, rain started to pelt down, and the ground was covered to protect the surface.