Rohit Sharma set the tone for India's explosive batting on Day 4 of the Kanpur Test.
After rain and wet outfield played spoilsport on Day 2 and 3 of the Kanpur Test between India and Bangladesh, fans got to witness the two teams in action on Monday (September 30).
Resuming their innings at 107/3, Bangladesh’s first innings folded for 233 in the post-lunch session, with Jasprit Bumrah (3-50), Mohammed Siraj (2-57), Akash Deep (2-43), R Ashwin (2-45) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-28) sharing the wickets among them.
In reply, Indian batters took the visiting bowling attack to the cleaners, racking up 285/9 (declared) in just 34.4 overs.
While skipper Rohit Sharma (23 off 11) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (72 off 51) set the tone with a 55-run stand in just 3.5 overs, the likes of Shubman Gill (39 off 36), Virat Kohli (47 off 35) and KL Rahul (68 off 43) carried on the demolition job to help the hosts gain a crucial 52-run lead.
Kohli, who registered scores of 6 and 17 in the opening Test at Chepauk, also played a quickfire knock of 47 in 35 deliveries, which included four boundaries and one six.
After the close of play, former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar heaped praise on Team India’s aggressive approach, suggesting that this would be Rohit’s legacy as a captain.
“Takeaway for me with the way that India played was this is the legacy Rohit Sharma will leave behind as captain. This is how he thinks. In the past one of the reasons why Test cricket became a little bit of a boring format was that not too many teams were willing to take the initiative barring maybe Australia and West Indies when they were number one. But here’s Rohit Sharma with a strong team. A team that is one of the top two teams in the world also shows the champion approach,” Manjrekar said while speaking on ESPNCricinfo.
The Indian captain Rohit showcased his intent to win the game by smashing two sixes in the first two balls that he faced. It was his blazing cameo that seemed to have spurred on his teammates.
“Realising that so much time has been lost he leads by example exactly like he did in the 50-overs World Cup. So this is what Rohit Sharma will leave behind as his contribution to Indian cricket. That is just thumping you to (play) only for the team, try and play to win and you know he doesn’t mind in the process like in the 50-over World Cup where he did not get a big hundred or anything like that,” Manjrekar commented.
“Even here he was quite happy to put his wicket on the line and suddenly we have a Test match which India could win. There is excitement despite what happened. So you have to applaud Rohit Sharma for that,” he concluded.
The home side would look to claim the remaining eight Bangladesh wickets as quickly as possible on the final day and complete a 2-0 whitewash.
The visitors were 26/2 in their second innings at stumps on Day 4, still trailing India by 26 runs.