India 376 (Ashwin 113, Jadeja 86, Mahmud 5-83) and 287 for 4 dec (Gill 119*, Pant 109, Mehidy 2-103) beat Bangladesh 149 (Shakib 32, Bumrah 4-50, Jadeja 2-19) and 234 (Shanto 82, Ashwin 6-88, Jadeja 3-58) by 280 runs
R Ashwin completed his fourth double of a hundred and a five-for in the same Test – and his second in successive Tests at Chepauk – to take India to a 1-0 series lead against Bangladesh on the fourth morning in Chennai. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto kept the probing bowling at bay, spending a wicketless first hour with Shakib Al Hasan.
But Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja broke down the resistance in the second hour. Ashwin’s 37th five-wicket haul took him level with the great Shane Warne, behind only Muthiah Muralidaran’s 67.
India started the day needing six wickets to win, but were denied at the start. The first hour, although wicketless, featured testing spells from Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Siraj, in particular, bowled through the hour, kept going past Shanto’s bat, and tried to engage him in verbals, but Shanto kept resisting him. Shakib wore a blow on his fingers, but managed to keep Shanto company.
Just after drinks, though, Chennai boy Ashwin and Chennai Super King Jadeja got together in a reminder of how their batting partnership on day one took the game away from Bangladesh. In his first over, Ashwin’s drift made Shakib play down the wrong line for Yashasvi Jaiswal to take another sharp catch at short leg. This wicket took him past Courtney Walsh’s 519 to No. 8 on the all-time wicket-takers’ table.
Jadeja’s quick pace and turn soon drew an edge from Litton Das for an easier catch at first slip. Playing at home, Ashwin then received a gift from Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who decided to take the long-on fielder on, and ended up offering Jadeja a simple catch – fitting that Ashwin’s five-wicket haul was completed with a Jadeja catch.
Trying to farm the strike, Shanto decided to have a go at Jadeja last ball of an over, but the wily spinner bowled wide to draw a wicket-taking thick edge. It was only a matter of time after that. A minor detail was that what could have been Ashwin’s seventh wicket – not given and not reviewed – ended up becoming Jadeja’s third in the next over.
