India whitewashed Bangladesh and secured an impressive victory in the Kanpur Test. The second and third days of the match were washed out due to rain and a wet outfield, but fortunately, the sky cleared on the fourth day.
To ensure a result, India made some bold decisions. After dismissing Bangladesh for 233 in the first innings, the Indian batters shifted gears and declared their innings at 285 runs in just 39.9 overs.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledged the challenges they faced in trying to extract a result from a pitch that offered minimal support for bowlers.
“We had to think a lot about how the game can keep moving forward once we lost two-and-a-half days,” Rohit said after India wrapped up a seven-wicket win on the fifth day.
“When we came on day four, we thought, okay, let’s try and get them out as quickly as possible and then see with the bat what we can do. Once they had got 230-odd, we said it was not about the runs we get but about the overs we wanted to bowl at them. It meant we had to try and up the run-rate and score as many as possible because the pitch did not have much for the bowlers.”
Sharma praised the efforts of his bowlers and admitted they were prepared to face the consequences if they were bundled out for a low total in their aggressive approach.
“It was a risk we were willing to take because when you’re trying to bat like that, it is very easy to get bundled out for a low score as well. But we were ready for that possibility; even if we got all out for 100-150, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to be in the game and try to get a result.”
He also highlighted the contributions of Akash Deep, who provided crucial breakthroughs in both Test matches.
“He’s been good, coming on the back of a lot of domestic cricket,” Rohit said.
“When you come up through the ranks like that, there’s enough overs in the legs. He has played a lot of cricket, so we know he can do the job the team expects him to do. He’s got the quality, the skills, and he has a good physique as well. He can bowl long spells and can bowl quickly.”
“We want to create a group of bowlers who are ready to play Test cricket at any given point because these days there’s too much cricket happening, with a lot of injuries and stuff like that.”
India’s ace pacer Bumrah also lauded Deep, saying he has “got a lot of heart”.
“He comes up to me quite a lot before his spell and asks me what is happening, what do you think I should do,” Bumrah said.
“We’ve had a lot of interesting conversations. It is the energy he brings onto the ball, gives it his absolute best in the field and as well as when he is bowling. He’s got a lot of heart, so that’s a great sign for us going forward as well. And whenever he comes into bowl, he gives his absolute best. So, yes, I’m very happy with the way he’s progressing and hopefully he goes from strength to strength.”
With this victory, India has further solidified its dominance, remaining undefeated in Test series at home since 2011.
Now, the team is gearing up for a three-match T20I series against the same opposition.
