Indian bowlers faced dogged resistance from Bangladesh middle-order led by captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who hit a defiant 81 to take his team to 322 for six at stumps on day three of the one-off Test in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s attacking 82 also contributed to Bangladesh’s fightback. At close of play, Rahim was ably supported by Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who was batting solidly batting on 51.
However, the visitors still trail India by 365 runs after the hosts declared at 687 for six on Friday.
Umesh Yadav (2/72 in 18 overs) was India’s best bowler on display but spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin (1/77 in 24 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/60 in 29 overs) didn’t look incisive despite being economical on a track that is still pretty good for batting. Ashwin infact was hit for 12 boundaries.
Ishant Sharma (1/54 in 16 overs) looked more effective with the old ball but he did inflict some pain to Mushfiqur with a snorter that had him in some pain. But the gritty Bangladesh skipper whipped the next for a boundary.
While India still have the upperhand with two full days of play, Bangladesh certainly would have gained confidence as they showed stomach for some fight in the last two sessions of the day after a poor morning.
