On Day 4 of the first Test against Bangladesh, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team won by 280 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The triumph boosted the confidence of the Gautam Gambhir-coached side, and the event was made even more memorable by the Indian team’s historic achievement.
The hosts had been asked to bat first in the first Test in Chennai and were reduced to 144/6 at one stage. But Ravi Ashwin (113) and Ravindra Jadeja (86) added 199 runs for the 7th wicket to take India to a fighting 376 runs. Hasan Mahmud became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take a Test fifer in India with figures and 5/83.
In reply, Jasprit Bumrah’s 4/50 and two wickets each by Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Ravindra Jadeja routed Bangladesh for 149 runs.
Building on a huge 227-run lead, the hosts, thanks to Shubman Gill (119*) and Rishabh Pant (109) and their 167-run partnership, posted 287/4d.
Set 515 runs to win, Bangladesh tried to give a fight to the target. Shadman Islam (35) and Zakir Hasan (33) scored 62 runs for 1st wicket in rapid succession. Shanto then scored an impressive 82 runs, but Bangladesh were bowled out for 234 runs and lost the Test by 280 runs.
Ravi Ashwin starred with the ball, taking 6/88, while Ravindra Jadeja took 3 wickets as well.
Team India creates history, and has more wins than losses in Test cricket for the first time
Meanwhile, thanks to this 280-run win, the hosts, for the first time in its Test history, has more victories than losses in the red-ball format. In total, India has played 580 Test matches to date, and they finally picked up the elusive 179th win in the format, going past the record of 178 losses in red-ball cricket.
Australia accomplished this feat in their first Test, while Afghanistan did so in their third Test. Pakistan needed 16 Test matches to record more victories than defeats, whereas England accomplished the feat in their 23rd Test.
West Indies (99th) and South Africa (340th) completed the historic achievement before the Indian team, while New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Ireland have yet to break the mark.
Australia has a relatively outstanding record, with 414 victories and 232 defeats. England follows with 397 wins and 325 defeats. South Africa has 179 victories against 161 losses, while Pakistan has 148 wins against 144 losses.
Since their first Test match in 1932, India has taken 92 years to win more Test matches than lose. Apart from India, Australia, England, South Africa, and Pakistan have more Test victories than defeats. However, it has won fewer Tests than India.
The current victory helped India maintain their lead in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 standings, with 71.67 PCT and 86 points from ten matches. Rohit Sharma’s side will try to complete a clean sweep of Bangladesh in the second Test in Kanpur after the BCCI picked an unchanged lineup for the series finale.
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