India vs Bangladesh Live Score, 2nd Test Day 5: Red-hot IND sniff ...

India vs Bangladesh Live Score, 2nd Test Day 5: Jasprit Bumrah… will he deliver one more time?

For Bangladesh, patience and greater application with the bat will be demanded. With a win now looking unlikely for the visitors, staving off a loss will be the key. They will hope to bat through most of the day, with time a greater factor in their favour than runs on the board. With Mominul showing excellent form already in this Test as he scored an unbeaten 107* in the first innings to notch his record-extending 13th century for Bangladesh, he will require support from Islam, as well as captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, and the experience of Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Litton Das lower down the order. Bangladesh have the quality to prevent a loss in this match, especially with bat, and have shown great gumption in tough scenarios in recent months. They will want to dig deep and exit this series with a memorable performance.

India, meanwhile, know that a win is on the cards. With the Tigers already two wickets down, both dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin, the hosts are masters in home conditions, especially late in matches. A similar bowling effort to the first innings will be demanded by Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, and with Jasprit Bumrah in rip-roaring form and Ashwin already spinning his web, wickets and attacking cricket will be the name of the game. They will trust their batters to hunt down any sort of total in the back end of the game, with the fireworks of their first innings setting a template for what might be required. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, India will need to be clinical with their chances, but if they can match their form of day four, attendees at Green Park Stadium will go home happy at the end of the day.

Day four was a fine display of cricket across the board from India. Three wickets in the morning session meant Bangladesh were six down entering the second session, and India exerted a death grip over the lower order as fiery and accurate bowling led to the final three wickets falling for just 9 runs. A pair of screamers in the field by Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Siraj meant Bangladesh weren’t given any sort of reprieve, bowled out for 233 soon after lunch.

In response, India came out all guns blazing. A first-ball six by Rohit Sharma set the tone, and he and Yashasvi Jaiswal put together 50 runs in just 3 overs — the fastest a team has reached the 50-run mark in a Test innings, ever. Rohit would fall but Gill and Jaiswal kept it going, extending that record to the fastest to reach 100 runs, in 10.1 overs. Jaiswal looked in typically dominant touch as he slashed and drove his way to 72(51), before falling to a low one.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul answered their critics by keeping the momentum going, putting on a 87-run partnership in just 59 balls, even as it became tougher to score runs and Bangladesh went ultra-defensive. Rahul was very impressive as he showed a full range of shots enroute to 68(43).

Akash Deep would hit a couple of massive sixes, with the fifth-gear style of batting never slowing down for India. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan took 4 wickets each in India’s pursuit of runs, but every single Bangladesh bowler went at over a run-a-ball as India scored at a rate of 8.22 through the innings. They declared on 285-9 in hunt of a result, looking to capture wickets late on day four.

The plan worked to perfection, as Ravichandran Ashwin was introduced early and showed that he would be a handful to deal with. He caught Zakir Hasan LBW, before bowling night-watchman Hasan Mahmud after an ill-advised hoick. Stumps were called at 26-2, setting up a salivating final day of this Test match, which could end up being one that lives long in the memory for Indian cricket fans.

Here are some pointers regarding Day 5 of the 2nd India vs Bangladesh Test:

- India need 8 wickets and then some runs to push out a result.

- Bangladesh will resume at 26-2, trailing India by 26 runs.

- The weather forecast looks promising with minimum chances of rain.

- Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah will be key for India

- Bangladesh will need to bat out of their skins to see off this menacing Indian bowling attack.