India Smash Batting Records to go for Outright Win in Rain-Spoiled Second Cricket Test against Bangladesh
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 30: Team records kept tumbling as India underlined its determination to go for an outright win in the second cricket test against Bangladesh despite the loss of more than two and half days of play due to rain and wet outfield conditions as Indian batsmen smashed Bangladesh bowlers all over the park in Green Park, Kanpur, on Monday in pursue of quick runs.
At the close of the fourth day’s play, Bangladesh at 26 for two wickets was still 26 runs behind India’s first innings score of 285 for nine declared in just 34.4 overs in response to Bangladesh first innings score of 233.
After a riveting day of Test cricket which saw the Indian team take their game to a whole new level against Bangladesh on Day 4, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal started positively right from the word go after Indian bowlers dismissed Bangladesh, which resumed from its first day’s score of 107 for three wickets, for 233.
Rohit and Jaiswal put on 55 runs for the opening partnership in just 3.5 overs. India reached fastest fifty in just 3.2 overs. India thus broke England’s record of scoring the fastest team fifty in 4.2 overs which they had registered against the West Indies at Trent Bridge in July this year and also improved their own record to score 100 in 11 overs.
Despite the dismissal of Rohit (23 off 11 balls), India continue to demonstrate sensational batting display as the side registered the fastest 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 runs in the history of Test cricket as India raced past 250 in just 30.1 overs which was also a record. And now they have set a new record for the highest run rate in a Test innings where over 200 runs have been scored. India went at a rate of 8.22 runs per over while the previous record was by Australia who went at 7.52 runs per over against Pakistan in Sydney, 2017.
Team India is in pole position to secure the win and in the process has also smashed a plethora of records in the process. From T20-style batting to a dominant bowling display, it seems like nothing can stop Team India from being the dominant force at home.
The Indian middle-order did not let up as they got themselves set to continue the scoring rate as they went on to set the fastest team 200 in the longest format in 24.1 overs. The record was previously held by Australia who were able to reach the 200-run mark in 28.1 overs against Pakistan in Sydney 2017.
Kohli chipped in with some decent shots, but despite his dismissal, Rahul stuck around as the Indian side went on to reach 250 runs in just 30.1 overs to set a new record. They beat the previous record which was done by England in 33.6 overs against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022.
There also were several mini records. Team India continues to set the precedent when it comes to power-hitting as they set the new record for most sixes hit by a team in a single calendar year. They pipped England who set the record at 89 in 2022. With 90 sixes so far in the year, Rohit Sharma and co continue to set the tone for the world.
Virat Kohli reached the milestone in his 535th match (594 innings). Only three other batters—Sachin Tendulkar (34,357), Kumar Sangakkara (28,016), and Ricky Ponting (27,483)—have crossed the 27,000-run mark in international cricket so far. Yashasvi Jaiswal was in full flow as the young Indian opener, helped the side get the perfect start. He now joins Shardul Thakur to share the record for the third-fastest fifty by an Indian in Tests.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja finally managed to hit the 300 Test wickets milestone during the 1st innings in Kanpur. He now joins a list of exceptional Indian bowlers to become the seventh person to do the feat. The likes of Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma all share the milestone with Jadeja.
After smashing a quick 51-ball 72, Jaiswal has now sealed the record as the highest Indian run-scorer in a WTC campaign. He went past Ajinkya Rahane who scored 1159 in the 2019-2021 cycle to reach the milestone. Jaiswal has currently scored as many as 1166 runs in 19 innings and is also the second-highest run-scorer in the ongoing WTC season.
India’s left-handed all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja has also cemented himself alongside legendary all-rounders like Ravichandran Ashwin and Kapil Dev to have scored 3000 runs and also picked up 300 wickets in the longest format. It is to be noted that Jadeja has reached the feat faster than Ashwin and now holds the second spot for the fastest to the feat.
The Indian skipper delivered a statement of intent when coming out to bat against Bangladesh. Right off the bat, it was consecutive sixes to begin his innings, which also made him the fourth to do so. The likes of England’s Jim Laker in the 1940s, Sachin Tendulkar in 2013 and Umesh Yadav in 2019 were the previous to achieve this rare feat.
Following Ashwin’s display in the Kanpur Test where he took two wickets in the first and second innings respectively, he now also holds the rare feat of having taken fifty wickets in all three WTC seasons. Team India’s most reliable quick bowler, Jasprit Bumrah continues to dominate across all three formats. By the end of play on Day 4, he has become the first bowler to hit 50 wickets for the 2024 calendar year.
