After the pouring of rain, Kanpur witnessed a deluge of runs.
The chants “Rohit bhaiya aaram se, Virat bhaiya aaram se,” got louder at the Green Park Stadium every time the two senior Indian batsmen put the ball away into the boundary. All the Indian batters, including No 9 Akash Deep, who smoked two sixes, received a standing ovation from the Kanpur crowd. The capacity crowd at the venue, who were left frustrated in the last couple of days due to inclement weather and poor drainage, were in for a treat as India batters took a leaf out of their T20 World Cup-winning batting style to bring the game to life.
Manoj Gupta, a local resident of Kanpur, who bought tickets for all five days now doesn’t want a refund for his tickets for two days that were washed out in the rain. “We have got our refund. Rohit Sharma and co provided us with an entertainment package and the anger of waiting in the stands without any cricket has gone,” he said.
Fastest Team 50, followed by the fastest Team 100 in Test cricket.#TeamIndia on a rampage here in Kanpur 👏👏#INDvBAN @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/89z8qs1VI1
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 30, 2024
India launched the assault on Bangladesh from the word go. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 30 off 13 balls and Rohit Sharma hit 19 off six balls to liven up the game. They put on 55 runs off only 23 balls for the first wicket, before Sharma fell for 23 off 11 balls. Jaiswal teed off with a hat-trick of boundaries, while Rohit warmed up with two back-to-back sixes.
India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said the message was loud and clear to the boys in the morning. “We started this morning to show that positive intent was going to be key. Two days are left in the match, and there are extended sessions, there’s still a lot of cricket, and a lot of time left in the game. I thought the way the boys went to the ball up front was incredible to see. It was always part of our game plan to see, how can we push this going forward and how can we get the winning result” Morkel summed up India’s approach.
India registered the highest run-rate ever for a test innings by clocking 200-plus runs – 8.22 per over – to finish with 285 for 9 declared in 34.4 overs. The Indian team also broke several records, they became the quickest to reach the 50, 100 and 200 in men’s Test history. India reached fifty in just 18 deliveries, beating the previous best record set by England (26 balls) earlier this year against West Indies in Nottingham. India crossed the triple-figure mark in 10.1 overs, improving their own record that they set against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 2023. India breached the 200-run mark in 24.2 overs and broke Australia’s record for the fastest 200, which was set against Pakistan during the Sydney Test in 2017.
Switch from T20
Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour has said India’s batting strategy in the 2024 T20 World Cup was to go all out from ball one, no matter the situation. “We wanted to keep attacking,” he has told this newspaper.
On Monday, it looked like Rohit Sharma and co took a leaf out of their T20 brand of batting.
India flexed their muscle and showed they have a batting line-up, where every other batsman could attack from the word go. It was a great switch to bring the T20 style in a Test match to make it exciting; that too without uttering the word ‘bazball’.
When coaxed about comparing India’s batting to England’s famous ‘bazball’ approach, Morne Morkel said: “What sets this batting line-up apart from the rest of the world is that we have got guys, who can adapt to different styles. If needed, they can take the game on. If needed, they can (take their) time. And that’s one of the advantages of our batting line-up.”
Kohli goes down the ground 🔥#IDFCFirstBankTestSeries #INDvBAN #JioCinemaSports #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/2nrlZbg3aT
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) September 30, 2024
“We’ve got guys that can really play the moment well and put bowlers under pressure. We don’t only have guys who can score quickly, we also have guys who know how to score big runs,” he added.
Jaiswal carried forward the assault, and with Shubman Gill at the other end, the duo put on 72 runs for the second wicket in no time. Jaiswal smashed a rollicking 72 off just 51 balls, an innings that had 12 fours and two sixes. Bangladeshi bowlers found no respite throughout the session, as they were dumbstruck by India’s batting onslaught, leaking runs at a startling rate.
“The way he’s hitting the ball, it’s incredible. But again, I take it back to training,” Morkel said on Jaiswal’s batting, adding: ” I watch him train now. You know, that guy, he’s got a routine, he’s got a process that he follows in his back.”
Morkel also showered praise on Rohit Sharma for leading by example. “You need a leader who can lead from the front. And Rohit has done it so many times for India. To go and hit first ball, bang for a six, on a surface where you think the bounce might be up and down, or you’re not quite sure how the new ball is going to play. It was incredible,” he said.
Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant got out in a similar fashion as both of them holed out to Hasan Mahmud while trying to clear the long-on boundary. India did lose the quick wickets, but the experienced duo of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul kept the tempo up and put on a 87-run stand for the fifth wicket.
The loudest cheer from the crowd came when Kohli sprinted down to the pitch. Rahul and him turned back the clock back to their Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB) days as the hammering continued from both ends. Kohli started it but it was Rahul who won the race and hit a destructive 68 off 43 balls. Kohli scored 47, and was cleaned bowled by Shakib while attempting a slog sweep.
Bangladesh’s bowlers went for plenty in a short span of time, with Mehidy Hasan (4/41) and Shakib Al Hasan (4/78) conceding runs at 6.1 and 7.09 runs per over.
Bangladesh were then reduced to 26/2 in its second innings with R Ashwin picking 2/14 in five overs. At stumps, Bangladesh were trailing by 26 runs, and India, with their ultra-aggressive batting approach, gave themselves a chance to go 2-0 up in the series.
