A belter of a track and an ordinary bowling attack – the stage was set for Shikhar Dhawan, who was short on runs lately, and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring his third Test hundred.
Dhawan used just one gear throughout his innings and despite a rain-interruption destroyed Bangladesh bowling. He stitched the second 200+ opening partnership with Murali Vijay to ensure that the Indian cricket team end the day on a high.
Team India has amazed 239 runs in just 53 overs at stumps on Day 1, with both Vijay and Dhawan well-set in the middle. Dhawan is batting on 150 not out, while Vijay (89 not out) is inching close to his 6th Test century.
The day entirely belonged to the Indian cricket team, after skipper Virat Kohli opted to bat first on a gloomy morning. Dhawan and Vijay started off cautiously, but they scored freely after settling down.
Dhawan, in particular, scored at a brisk pace, while Vijay started slowly off the blocks but gained momentum. Just before the first session break there was a rain delay and the lunch was taken early.
The rain intensity increased and the play could only possible at 3:30 local time. But, the rain interruption didn’t affect Indian openers as they resumed from where they left. Dhawan completed his swift hundred, while Vijay scored a half-century.
Even though India dominated the game, but Bangladesh had their chances. A couple of close lbw shouts were turned down by the umpires, but Shuvagata Hom dropped a sitter.
Had Bangladesh hung on to the chances, the story could have been a lot different. But, in reality, Bangladesh lacked quality bowling and their bowling selection was also questionably, as there is just one specialist seamer in Bangladesh line-up.
