Veteran Bangladesh spinner Shakib al Hasan made a huge mistake during the first Test match between India and Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Shakib al Hasan was positioned at centre-back, just behind Rishabh Pant, who was playing aggressively despite India’s poor start.
Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed flicked a short ball into Pant’s body. Pant made no attempt to keep the ball down, instead taking a half-hearted shot towards deep square leg. Shakib al Hasan was positioned behind and, seeing the ball drop early, ran diagonally to his right.
But the all-rounder couldn’t reach the ball in time and despite his efforts, it bounced right in front of him. It wasn’t an easy catch by any means. Shakib Al Hasan got off to a bit of a late start as he misjudged the ball.
Watch: Gautam Gambhir fumes as Rishabh Pant sacrifices Yashasvi Jaiswal for his opening runs
Watch – Shakib Al Hasan drops a dummy off Rishabh Pant
— Kirkit Expert (@expert42983) September 19, 2024
After the fall, Taskin Ahmed put his hands on his face as he came close to getting the big wicket of Rishabh Pant, who was looking in superb form. Shakib al Hasan was also disappointed and rued the big chance to dismiss the Indian wicketkeeper.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant moved ahead of KL Rahul at No. 5 and showed an aggressive intent that put the bowlers on the defensive. He and Jaiswal made the most of the bad balls offered to them and set the score with their display of attacking batting.
Pant looked to be in great form and tried to attack the bowlers as he usually does. His dropped catch by Shakib could have proved extremely costly but he was dismissed by Hasan Mahmud for 39 off 52 balls just after lunch. The wicket would have come as a relief to Shakib Al Hasan who had dropped him earlier.
Hasan Mahmud rocks India early
Earlier, Bangladesh had won the toss and elected to bowl first in favourable conditions on a pitch that helped the fast bowlers early on. The bowlers were in the right spot and had enough movement to put India’s top order in a bind.
Hasan Mahmud struck with the big wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma as he was caught at second slip for 6 runs. Shubman Gill was quick to follow as he was caught on the leg side by wicketkeeper Litton Das and was caught for a duck.
Even Virat Kohli couldn’t stay at the crease for long and it became Hasan Mahmud’s third wicket of the morning. Kohli was dismissed for just 6 as India fell to 34-3 in 9.2 overs. Kohli’s wicket brought joy to the Bangladesh camp and stunned the crowd.
Hasan Mahmud had a dream spell as he picked up India’s first 4 wickets and tore through the back of the Indian batting order.
His new partner Taskin Ahmed also played well and supported him. India will hope that their middle and lower order will rally around Yashasvi Jaiswal and lead them to a good score in the first innings.
