Najmul Hossain Shanto. Photo- Twitter
Najmul Hossain Shanto. Photo- Twitter

Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh captain, was praiseful of his bowlers’ performance in the defeat to India in the first of the two Tests. Bangladesh lost to India by 280 runs in the first Test that was played in Chennai.

Shanto was impressed by the quick bowlers, who included Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, and Nahid Rana. However, he wanted the batters to step up and produce runs ahead of the second Test in Kanpur. India easily won by 280 runs, expanding their lead over Bangladesh.

Asked to bat first in gloomy conditions, India labored to 144/6, with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 56. However, a crucial 199-run partnership between Ravindra Jadeja (86) and Ravichandran Ashwin (113) rescued India by propelling them to 376.

Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud shone with a five-wicket haul, making him the first Bangladeshi to do so in India.

“The positive thing is the way Hasan, Taskin, and Rana bowled in the first 2-3 hours, really impressive. After that, they (India) batted really well. Seaming option – everyone contributed. The way we bowled with the new ball, it’s impressive. The last couple of series we have bowled really well but we have to continue that,” Najmul Hossain Shanto told the broadcasters in the post-match presentation.

India has yet to lose a Test against Bangladesh, as they secured their 12th victory against the neighboring country.

I hope the batters will do something special: Najmul Hossain Shanto

Bangladesh were reduced to 149 in the second innings, with India’s Jasprit Bumrah taking 4/50. Shakib Al Hasan’s 32 was the visitors’ only bright spot, as India maintained a commanding 227-run lead.

India declared at 287/4 in their second innings, thanks to centuries from Shubman Gill (119*) and Rishabh Pant (109), leaving Bangladesh with a difficult target of 515. Pant (109) established an alliance of 167 for the fourth wicket with Shubman Gill, which helped India.

On Sunday morning, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took nine wickets to eliminate Bangladesh for 234. Najmul Hossain Shanto top-scored with 82 runs, while openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan also performed admirably.

Shanto said that he always wanted to contribute and enjoyed his batting. He wanted the batters to step up.

Najmul Hossain Shanto said: “As a batter, I always try to contribute. I enjoy my batting. Just try to bat as long as we can without thinking about the outcome, just try to follow our process and play with our strength that’s what we wanted to do. Bowlers did a great job, I hope the batters will do something special.”

The second Test will be played in Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium from September 27 onwards.

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