IND vs BAN 1st Test: India make big WTC final spot claim with statement win over Bangladesh
Team India’s bid for a place in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) has taken a major boost after they beat Bangladesh by 188 runs on the final day of the Chattogram Test. The win sees India leapfrog Sri Lanka in the WTC standings and are now third with Australia and South Africa the only teams sitting above India. The win now means that India now need to win four of their last five WTC cycle matches.
Needing 241 runs to win Bangladesh were optimistic about their chances to win the match while India were sitting in the driving seat having scalped six wickets in the second innings on Day 4. It took only 50 minutes for India to wrap the Bangladesh tail as the likes of Mehidy Hasan Miraz (13), Taijul Islam (4) and Ebadot Hossain (0) showed little resistance with the bat.
Shakib Al Hasan did show some fight but it was a mountain too hard to climb for him as Bangladesh were bundled out for 324. Shakib scored 84 runs off 108 deliveries that consisted of 6 sixes and 6 fours and looked positive before being dismissed.
Having won the toss India opted to bat first and posted a total of 404 after Cheteshwar Pujara’s 90-run knock helped India to a big score. In response, Bangladesh were bowled out for 150 runs as Kuldeep Yadav claimed a fifer and Mohammed Siraj took three wickets. In the second innings, Shubman Gill’s 110-run knock along with Pujara’s hundred saw India score 258/2 before they deiced to declare their innings. Kuldeep Yadav scalped three wickets in the second innings while Axar Patel also picked four wickets to wrap the Bangladesh innings.
The win sees India leapfrog Sri Lanka in the WTC standings as they now sit third on 55.77 PCT with only South Africa and Australia sitting above the Indian team. India still has five matches remaining in the WTC standings including a four-match Test series against Australia in 2023, before the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. India will need to win at least four matches from their five to boost their prospect of a WTC final spot.
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