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Kanpur Test: Sensational Team India outclass Bangladesh, sweep series

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Yashasvi Jaiswal scored another half-century as India defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in the weather-hit second Test to make a clean sweep of the two-Test series in Kanpur on Tuesday.

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India, after dismissing Bangladesh for 146 runs in the second innings, thanks to three-wicket hauls by Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, achieved the victory target of 95 runs in 17.2 overs, with Jaiswal and Kohli scoring 51 and unbeaten 29 runs respectively.

Earlier, Ashwin (3/50), Jadeja (3/34) and Bumrah (3/17) broke the back of the Bangladesh batting, allowing them the addition of just 120 runs to their overnight total of 26/2.

Overnight batter Shadman Islam was the highest scorer for Bangladesh in the second innings, scoring 50 runs.

The lunch session was extended by nearly an hour to complete Bangladesh’s innings.

Bangladesh were bundled out for 233 in their first innings before India scored a quick-fire 285/9 and declared their innings on Monday in a match in which two days were completely lost due to a wet outfield.

Ravindra Jadeja hastened Bangladesh’s collapse with a sizzling three-wicket haul as India closed in on victory in the second Test by wrapping up the visitors’ second innings for 146 at lunch on day 5, in Kanpur on Tuesday.

India, who had a 52-run first-innings lead, need to knock off the required 95 runs in the remaining two sessions to inflict a whitewash on the visitors.

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A victory, which looks imminent barring weather playing spoilsport, will consolidate India’s pole position in the ICC World Test Championship Table (WTC).

Jadeja (3/34), Jasprit Bumrah (3/17) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/50) shared nine wickets among themselves, while Akash Deep (1/20) accounted for one batter.

Beginning the decisive day at 26 for two, Bangladesh lost overnight batter and first-innings centurion Mominul Hasque (2) to Ashwin quickly but Shadman Islam (50 off 101) kept the other end secure with his fighting knock studded with 10 boundaries.

Shadman (50) raised a 55-run stand with his skipper for the fourth wicket but Shanto (19 off 37) undid the good work with his poor shot selection.

He tried to reverse sweep Jadeja, and missed the line completely to be bowled.

Pacer Akash then had Shadman caught in the slips.

Once Shadman was dismissed, Bangladesh batting fell apart with Jadeja proving to be too hot to handle for the visitors. The left-arm spinner got rid of Shanto, Litton Das (1) and Shakib Al Hasan (0) in a spell that broke the back of the Bangladesh middle order.

Shakib could not even open his account in probably the last innings of his Test career, with his half-hearted defensive shot going straight back to Jadeja while Das nicked one behind the wicket.

Bumrah then got rid of Mehidy Hazan Miraz (9) and Taijul Islam (0) to further pile on Bangladesh’s misery. He closed the Bangladesh innings by cleaning up Mushfiqur Rahim (37), who was the only batter apart from Shadman to offer some resistance.

Shadman negotiated the Indian bowlers with confidence. He swept Ashwin and drove Bumrah with authority but Mominul did not last long.

He swept Ashwin but could not connect well and the resultant edge went straight to KL Rahul stationed at the leg slip.

Aswhin’s third wicket brought rival skipper Shanto to the crease. Shanto took some time to settle, remaining circumspect for a while.

Shadman though batted solid from his end. His defence was compact against Ashwin and he was not afraid to use his feet against the off-spinner. He rotated the strike and kept finding boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Rohit brought Mohammed Siraj into the attack and he almost had Shanto but the edge from the Bangladesh skipper flew to the boundary through the vacant space between the second slip and gully.

Shadman handled the Siraj challenge well. He slapped a widish one from the India pacer to the fence and also drove through the covers when the quick pitched full while bowling from around the wicket. He completed his fifty but departed soon after.

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Why Head Coach Gautam Gambir is under the lens?

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Transitions are never easy. More so when a dressing room is dotted with superstars who are in the twilight of their glittering careers.

That’s the reason India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir finds himself caught between a rock and hard place.

Indian cricket’s big transition has started with Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement, and Gambhir may have to be the ‘Harbinger of Doom’ for some of the megastars if the currently tied Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia does not end up being decisively in India’s favour in Melbourne and Sydney.

While Ashwin took the hard call himself, anyone with a basic understanding of Indian cricket would know that Gambhir’s decision to include Washington Sundar at the senior pro’s expense was the biggest trigger.

Skipper Rohit Sharma wasn’t even in Perth when the decision was made.

There are four big names — Virat Kohli, Rohit, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami — in the Indian dressing room right now.

Shami isn’t playing this series but not being able to even join the team hasn’t actually left him in a good space.

While the senior selection committee, chaired by Ajit Agarkar, will have a say, the names in question are big enough to warrant a respectable discussion before being given the final nudge.

But unlike his predecessor Rahul Dravid, nuance isn’t exactly Gambhir’s biggest forte.

To be fair to Gambhir, Dravid didn’t have to deal with a transition this huge but he did actually tell Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha that their days in national colours were over.

Neither Ishant nor Saha were as big a star as the quartet mentioned above and they walked away quietly.

The focus has been squarely on seniors, especially skipper Rohit and Virat, for their underwhelming form.

However, Gambhir, whose appointment as head coach created a lot of buzz, is also very much under the lens.

Eight Tests since his arrival have thrown up four defeats, a draw and three victories. These are not results that the fiery opener would have envisaged.

The celebrations after saving the follow-on in Brisbane were mistaken for joy. Anyone familiar with the dynamics of competitive sport would know that the high-fives were more a display of relief.

Will his position as head coach become untenable if India don’t qualify for the World Test Championship final? The answer is a “No” at this point.

Will it be untenable if India don’t win the Champions Trophy?

Perhaps not, as both the ongoing series and the next 50-over ICC event will comprise a core that has been there for a considerable period of time.

Is the BCCI ready to give Gambhir a free hand to create a team of his own, where he would be the master planner with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah (possibly next Test skipper) and Suryakumar Yadav (T20 skipper) executing his strategy?

It can’t happen right away but it’s not too far either.

Those who know Gambhir insist that his heart is in the right place even when he takes harsh or seemingly risky calls. Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana were his choices and they have not been bad.

But the Indian dressing room, where player power has always prevailed, requires a lot of patience from a coach to earn the trust of players.

John Wright, Gary Kirsten and Ravi Shastri were able to earn that trust but Greg Chappell and Anil Kumble, despite being legends, failed to click.

Gambhir’s situation is more like what Duncan Fletcher endured in 2011 when he took over an ageing team.

By the time the 2014 England away series concluded, India under Fletcher’s stewardship had lost 11 Tests (seven in England and four in Australia).

Shastri was appointed as Cricket Director to oversee Fletcher, which was basically aimed at sidelining the Zimbabwean.

The world remembers Gambhir for being a hero in two World Cup finals and the brain behind KKR’s three IPL trophies — two as captain and one as coach. But a lesser known fact about Gambhir is that in 2017, he relinquished Delhi Capitals captaincy midway through IPL for Shreyas Iyer.

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Rohit’s knee injury not serious, says pacer Akash Deep

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India pace bowler Akash Deep played down concerns over skipper Rohit Sharma’s knee injury in the build-up to the fourth Test against Australia this week after the batsman was hit during a practice session on Sunday.

Rohit, who missed the opening Test to spend time with his newborn son and has been struggling for form since returning to the team, looked in discomfort after being struck on his left knee in the nets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The 37-year-old continued batting but later received care from a physiotherapist and had an ice pack strapped to his leg, which he rested on a chair.

“Such injuries are quite common when you play cricket and it doesn’t make much of a difference,” Akash told reporters, adding that the practice wicket had been challenging.

“I think this was a wicket for white-ball cricket, so the ball kept a bit low and it was a bit difficult to bat on. But such blows happen and it’s not a concern.”

India battled hard to earn a draw in the rain-interrupted third Test in Brisbane to leave the five-match series locked at 1-1 ahead of the Boxing Day clash.

The tourists won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs before crashing to a 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide.

“It’s 50-50 right now. In the last match, even though we were behind, we built some confidence. This Test match will be very important for both teams,” Akash said.

“Our mindset as fast bowlers is that we can get some quick wickets with the new ball and cause problems for them. We have seen in the three matches that we can create chances with the new ball.

“After 30 overs, however, you have to wait for the batsmen to make mistakes.”

On Saturday, KL Rahul was hit on his hand while batting at the nets at the MCG and was promptly attended to by the visiting team’s physio. India’s opener was hit on his right hand and seen in some discomfort. 

There was no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management did not issued any statement on why he had sought medical attention.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

The opener was also hit on the arm during match simulation on November 17, but was fit to play the opening Test in Perth, five days later.

Rahul has been the team’s in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test.

Overall, he is the second highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia’s swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two hundreds.

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Melbourne Test: Injury scare for KL Rahul

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India opener KL Rahul got hit on his hand while batting at the nets in Melbourne on Saturday and was promptly attended to by the visiting team’s physio ahead of the fourth Test against Australia.

Rahul was hit on his right hand and was seen in some discomfort at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will host the Boxing Day Test from December 26 with the five-match series levelled at 1-1.

There is no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management has also not issued any statement on why he had sought medical attention.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

The opener was also hit on the arm during match simulation on November 17, but was fit to play the opening Test in Perth, five days later.

Rahul has been the team’s in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test.

Overall, he is the second highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia’s swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two hundreds.

Battling through multiple rain interruptions, Rahul held firm with a vital knock of 84 in India’s first innings of the third Test in Adelaide, the innings going a long way in helping India to save the match.

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