IND vs BAN, 1st Test, Day 1: Ton-up R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja Flatten Bangladesh After Top-order Flop Show

From 144/6 to 339/6, India’s cricket’s ‘Greatest Test Duo’ – Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined for a mammoth unbeaten stand of 195 runs for the seventh wicket to save India the blushes on Day 1 of the 1st India vs Bangladesh Test in Chennai.

After being out into bat, India found themselves tottering with the big guns – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill departing cheaply before Yashaswi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant steadied the ship for the hosts. But, Bangladesh fought back with three quick wickets in the second session to put India in a spot of bother before Ashwin and Jadeja joined forces to flatten the visitors.

Generally, Day 1 is the best day for batting at the Chepauk and after aiding the seamers for the first two sessions, the pitch did flatten out and with the sun coming out as well, there was nothing in it for the bowlers. Still, India were in a precarious position but the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who have both played a lot at this ground, stitched together a monumental stand with Ashwin finishing the day with a 6th Test ton on his home ground, just a couple of days after his 38th birthday. Jadeja also ended the day on an unbeaten 86 and will look to bring up the three-figure mark as well.

Not much to write home about Bangladesh and their performance on the field in that final session as they couldn’t pick up a single wicket and just succumbed to pressure. Hasan Mahmud had set things up in the first session and then Nahid Rana showed glimpses of greatness in the second session but the two spinners, Mehidy Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan lacked control and couldn’t get the job done in the final session with the pacers tiring out.

India in the ascendancy at the end of Day 1 but it will be a new day tomorrow and Bangladesh will have the second new ball available right away. Early conditions might be testing for the batters and the visitors will look to strike. India will eye getting close to the 400-run mark and setting things up nicely for their bowlers. Day 2 action begins at 4 am GMT on Friday but you can tune in an hour in advance to our build-up. Cheers!