India vs Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehedi Hasan frustrate hosts at Hyderabad

Mushfiqur Rahim survived a controversial run-out appeal when he was on 18, and went on to post a resolute 81 not out, as Bangladesh battled their way successfully through the third day to post 322 for 6, against India in the one-off Test at Hyderabad. Rahim and Mehedi Hasan posted an unbeaten 87–run stand for the seventh wicket to keep India at bay. Rahim was the anchor of Bangladesh innings, as he was involved in a crucial 107-run stand with Shakib Al Hasan to lead the visitors’ reply. However, Bangladesh may not have averted all dangers completely. They still need 165 more to avoid follow-on, and are still 365 behind India’s 687 for 6 declared. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Bangladesh, one-off Test at Hyderabad

Nevertheless, Bangladesh will draw a lot of confidence from their performance on the third day. Recovering from a top-order collapse to post their fifth total in excess of 300 against India in Test cricket, Bangladesh showed gumption against a rampant India. Bangladesh lost only 5 wickets and added 281 runs to their total that, in hindsight, should boost their confidence, keeping in mind there are two days left in the contest, and the hosts need another 14 wickets to inflict a defeat.

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

Rahim and Shakib attacked the Indian bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin in particular), as they added more than a hundred runs to revive their innings, which was rocked by a flurry of wickets. Shakib looked set for his fifth Test century, but Ashwin removed him for a brisk 82.

Shakib’s dismissal left Bangladesh reeling at 216 for 5. Rahim then decided to pull things back in control with dogged resistance. He may have continued batting in the same passion, but Sabbir Rahman failed to provide him the support. This was when Rahim got the company of the talented Miraz, who proved his mettle with the bat. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: India vs Bangladesh one-off Test at Hyderabad

Rahim rode his luck, as third umpire Chris Gaffaney chose to award ‘benefit of doubt’ to the batsman when he was batting on 18. Rahim was late to respond to Shakib’s call when he called for a single in the 50th over. Rahim made a dive as Wriddhiman Saha collected a throw from mid-off and broke the stumps. The shoulder of Rahim’s bat seemed be on the line when the bails were being dislodged. After taking several looks, the decision was ruled in favour of the batsman.

Rahim and Mehedi used the opportunity of batting for long against a dangerous bowling attack. India took the second new ball straightaway when it was available, but the two went on undeterred. Rahim was the slower of the two batsmen; he neither looked to score runs nor take any charge to try and help Bangladesh get as many quick runs as possible. Rahim was on 44 off 93 ball when Shakib was dismissed. He got into a shell and did not look for runs post Shakib and Sabbir’s wickets; instead he kept defending most of the deliveries. His half-century came on the 150th ball, and by the end of the day, he reached 81 not out off 206 balls, having hit 12 boundaries. In the process, Rahim completed his 3,000 runs in Test cricket and became only the fourth Bangladeshi to do so.

Mehedi displayed tremendous batting skills, technique and temperament to bring up his maiden Test fifty. Mehedi, for that matter, has scored five First-Class fifties so far. He is more than a handy batsman, having showed his skills with four fifties in the U-19 World Cup last year, averaging 60. Mehedi brought up his feat with a boundary off Ashwin, marking off an ordinary day for the ace spinner who also had one review wasted on one of his appeals.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh made a shaky start. Mominul Haque and Tamim Iqbal were involved in a mix-up that saw both the batsmen being in the middle of the pitch at one point, eventually resulting in the latter being run out. Tamim did not add any to his overnight total of 24.

Umesh Yadav produced a fantastic spell of seam bowling, which saw Mominul being trapped in front of the wicket soon after Tamim was dismissed. Mominul scored 12 off 36, but looked fidgety throughout his stay, off deliveries that were nipping around.  Shakib walked in next, and was all at sea against Umesh to start with. Umesh kept beating the edges of the bat repetitively but could not find an edge.

Having survived a probing spell from Umesh, Shakib went on to hit 14 boundaries to race to a 103-ball. Shakib hit several strokes away from his body and also used his feet more often than not against spinners. He also did not shy away from hitting in the air off the spinners and fast bowlers alike. Shakib added 45 runs for the fourth wicket with Mahmudullah, who scored 28 during his stay in the middle.

Shakib and Rahim revived memories of their marathon 359-run stand a few weeks ago, but could not continue after they completed their 100-run mark as a pair. Shakib, who had already smacked Ashwin several times on deliveries pitched away from him, was cramped for room when he danced down the track in the 63rd over. Shakib tried to clear the in-field, but ended up playing straight to the fielder at mid-on.

Bangladesh lost momentum with the bat post the dismissal of Shakib, and crawled to 322 for 6 at stumps scoring at around 2.5 an over. Rahim was content dropping the anchor and bide time, but Mehedi showed glimpse of a quality all-rounder in making as he reached 51 not out at stumps. Mehedi’s defense and strokeplay were near-perfect.

India bowled 30 overs in the final session but could not break through. Umesh remained the pick among the Indian bowlers with 2 wickets for 72 runs.

Brief scores:

India 687 for 6 decl. (Murali Vijay 108, Cheteshwar Pujara 83, Virat Kohli 204, Ajinkya Rahane 82, Wriddhiman Saha 106*, Ravindra Jadeja 60*; Taijul Islam 3 for 156) lead Bangladesh 322 for 6 (Shakib Al Hasan 82, Mushfiqur Rahim 81*, Mehedi Hasan 51*; Umesh Yadav 2 for 72) by 365 runs.

LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD & BALL-BY-BALL COMMENTARY: India vs Bangladesh, one-off Test at Hyderabad