Team India fashioned a remarkable victory over Bangladesh with time to spare in the rain-hit second Test and took the series 2-0 to put themselves in pole position so far as qualifying for the World Test Championship final goes.
When Team India began batting on the fourth day, less than 140 overs were left in the match. It was fascinating that a team could even think of forcing a victory in such a situation when some useful batting practice would have been the only thing on cricketers’ minds in days when Tests were played in the traditional way.
Picking up the gauntlet in the age of positive Test match cricket, Team India put the Bangladesh bowling to the sword with the captain Rohit Sharma hitting the first two balls for six while the team beat every Test batting speed record on the way to a modest first innings lead in scoring 285-9 declared in under 35 overs.
Team England used to pride themselves on playing what they called “Bazball” in Tests but Team India may have outdone them in this “Gautiball” mayhem as they hit the red ball around as if the batters saw it in the colour of its white counterpart.
As the No. 1 ranked Test side in the world and playing at home where they are least vulnerable, the team set themselves the task of shaping what seemed an impossible Test win. With the bowlers of both pace and spin responding in attacking the batters, the Bangladeshis, who came off a sensational Test series win in Pakistan, were shown their place in the cricket world’s pecking order.
Of course, the battling Bangladeshis had Team India on the ropes in the first Test before the two Ravis — the late middle order all-rounders Ashwin and Jadeja — pulled the chestnuts out of the fire in making the first big statement of positive intent in the new Gautam Gambhir-coached regime.
Huge challenges lie ahead like in a five-Test tour of Australia and this Team India seem to be in a confident frame of mind to take them on before they may qualify to face the ultimate challenge of winning the WTC title at Lord’s next year. So strong are the vibes coming off this team now in their readiness to take on all comers.
