India captain Rohit Sharma was over the moon as India defeated Bangladesh by 280 runs in the first Test of the two-match series. This match was played in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram stadium.
India had made 287/4d in their second innings with Rishabh Pant (109) and Shubman Gill (119*) starring with the bat. This meant that Bangladesh needed to make 515 runs to win the Test match. The openers gave it a good go as the visitors ended on 158/4 at stumps on day three.
But on day four, Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared nine wickets to rout Bangladesh for 234 runs. Ashwin took 6/88, while Jadeja took 3 wickets as only Najmul Hossain Shanto made 82 runs in defiance to Indian bowling.
During the post-match ceremony, skipper Rohit Sharma praised two of India’s biggest heroes in the match: Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin. Rohit described Pant as a great talent while praising Ashwin as one of the team’s most reliable players.
“It was a great result looking at what lies ahead for us. We are playing after a long time, but you are never out of cricket. We came here a week before, we had a good lead-up to the Test match and we got the result that we wanted,” Rohit Sharma said in a post-match presentation on Sports 18.
Rohit Sharma praised Rishabh Pant, who scored 39 and 109 on his return to Test cricket after 634 days.
“Rishabh has been through some really tough times. The way he has managed himself through those tough times was superb to watch. He came back in the IPL, followed by a very successful World Cup and this is the format he loves the most. For us, it was never about what is he going to do with the bat, we always knew what he had with the bat and with the gloves as well. It was just about giving him the game time. Credit to him as well, he went on to play Duleep Trophy and got ready for this Test match and had an impact straightaway in the game,” Rohit said.
With this win, India now has 71.67 PCT and 86 points from 7 wins in 10 games in the World Test Championship (WTC 2023-25) table.
Ravi Ashwin is always so brilliant: Rohit Sharma
Ravichandran Ashwin also received praise from Rohit Sharma. Sharma commented on Ravichandran Ashwin’s all-round performance in the game (113 runs and 6 wickets), saying that the 38-year-old is one of the most dependable cricketers in the squad right now, as he is willing to support the team with both bat and ball whenever the opportunity arises.
“He’s next in line to talk to you, he’s the right man to answer what he does. Every time we look up to him, he’s always there for us whether with the bat or ball. I don’t know if I speak here, it’ll be enough of what he does for this team. Every time we see him come out and do the job, it’s always so brilliant. He’s never out of the game. The last competitive cricket he played was IPL and then he had some fun playing TNPL. We watched him bat up the order and that’s what helped him as well to bat the way he did,” Rohit said.
The second Test between India and Bangladesh will be played in Kanpur from September 27 onwards.
Also Read: India Retains Same Squad For Second Test Against Bangladesh In Kanpur