BAN vs IND 2022-23, 1st Test: Shreyas 'lucky' Iyer stands tall on Day 1; leaves Twitterati in splits
Cheteshwar Pujara injected a fresh lease of life into his uncertain international future with a dogged 90 while Shreyas Iyer enjoyed a reprieve to remain unbeaten on 82 in India's underwhelming opening day score of 278/6 against Bangladesh in the first Test.
FollowIn India's unimpressive opening day score of 278/6 against Bangladesh at the first Test in Chattogram, Shreyas Iyer enjoyed a reprieve to remain unbeaten on 82, while Cheteshwar Pujara gave his uncertain international future a new lease on life with a tenacious 90.
Pujara was bowled neck and crop by left-arm spinner Taijul Islam (3/84) to prevent him from reaching a Test century, but not before he and Iyer helped India escape danger with a 149-run fifth-wicket stand.
Axar Patel was bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz (2/71) off the day's final ball to regain control for the hosts, who hoped to keep India to less than 300 runs on a good batting surface.
As the first player to take the opposition by the scruff of the neck after captain KL Rahul (22), Shubman Gill (20), and Virat Kohli (1) were cheaply removed within the first 90 minutes of play, Rishabh Pant's counterattacking knock (46 off 45 balls) was of tremendous value.
Pant was batting on a different track before arriving at the crease. Honours were shared on the first day, with Islam emerging as Bangladesh's hero and demonstrating his ability to step out of the shadow of Shakib Al Hasan, his more celebrated captain. To counteract the advantage India had after losing three wickets, and he delivered a few great left-arm spinner's deliveries to dismiss Kohli in the first hour and Pujara in the final half-hour.
As the batter moved to the back foot, Kohli flung it up and delivered a wider length. The ball swung around enough to strike him in the rear pad. If Pujara had been on the front foot and Kohli had been on the back, the ball would have hit the off-stick had Pujara not presented a dead defence.
Iyer, for one, was fortunate when Ebadot Hossain beat him through the gate and the ball struck the stumps with the bail dislodged from its groove but did not fall.
Iyer had 10 hits to the fence, compared to Pujara's 11 fours. However, the batting performance as a whole was quite disappointing.
After India was reduced to 48 for 3 in the 20th over, Pant and Pujara (42 not out) scored 64 runs, displaying much-needed aggression by hitting six fours and two sixes in their innings.
India, anticipating to bat, wasted the chance by letting the Bangladesh bowlers control the game.
The opening session lacked the aggressive approach Rahul mentioned prior to the contest. The sixth over saw the introduction of spin, and Rahul welcomed Shakib Al Hasan with a cut across the point zone.
India reached 30 for no loss in seven overs when Gill demonstrated his determination with a cut and pull against pacer Hossain in the subsequent -. After then, though, the boundaries stopped as Bangladeshi bowlers restricted the Indians to a stump-to-stump line.
Rahul played away from his body off bowler Khaled Ahmed only to drag the ball back onto the stumps, while a weak shot and an avoidable sweep killed Gill. The hitters in the top order had the opportunity to utilise their feet more frequently against the spinners but opted to remain back in the crease.
Pant once more demonstrated the much-needed offensive strategy, applying pressure to Islam by smashing him for a few fours and a six over wide long-on. In the final over of the morning session, Islam gave up two boundaries while Pant welcomed offfie Miraz with a square cut.
Nurul Hasan had a rare opportunity to dismiss Pujara very early in the second session, but he could not do so in the 27th over off Hossain. Pant persisted in searching for quick runs, smashing two more boundaries against Miraz and Hossain. The keeper-batter also hit Miraz for a maximum over deep midwicket, but the spinner emerged triumphant by picking him up with the following ball in the 32nd over.
Shreyas 'lucky' Iyer sparks massive reaction on Twitter
Following Iyer's lucky miss off Ebadot Hossain's ball during the day's play, fans took to Twitter to share their views on that unbelievable moment. "Ball hit the stump still bail didn't fall. Instance scene. That called luck. Shreyas Iyer is tool lucky," noted one Indian fan, while another stated, "The bail rule has got to change. This is stupid. The stump has deflected. The bail has dislodged but the bail has not fallen! Shreyas Iyer is one lucky cookie."
A third enthusiast noted, "What a luck. Shreyas Iyer saved because bail doesn't dislodge completely. Luck is always in the favour of brave." Meanwhile, a fourth cricket fan remarked, "Hahaha Shreyas Iyer having all the luck in the world, 2 dropped catches and now ball stays low gets bowled bail moves but doesn’t get dislodged."
Here's a look at some of the reactions on the micro-blogging site:
(With inputs from PTI)
