Twitter Reactions: Shreyas Iyer, Cheteshwar Pujara resurrect India's innings after early blows on day one

India and Bangladesh started off their first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on December 14, Wednesday. Rohit Sharma’s injury ruled him out of the game and thus, KL Rahul took over the captaincy duties. He won the toss and elected to bat first. India’s star-studded line-up looked to go big from the start, but Rahul’s plans of playing aggressive cricket backfired.

Shubman Gill and Rahul opened the innings for India. It took them some time to settle in, but just when they did, the Bangladeshi bowlers worked their magic and sent the openers packing. Taijul Islam got the hosts the first breakthrough by dismissing Gill in the 14^th over. The Indian skipper walked back soon in the 19^th over after being dismissed off Khaled Ahmed’s delivery.

Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, whose last Test century came against Bangladesh in 2019, also failed. Taijul Islam’s delivery took a sharp turn but Kohli could not tackle it, and as a result, the 34-year-old was dismissed scoring just a run off five deliveries. India lost three crucial wickets within 20 overs as the hosts dominated the first session.

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara then steadied the ship by piling up the important runs. Pant went on to cross 4000 international career runs while batting in the first innings, and also entered an elite list of fastest players to 50 Test sixes. Playing his 54^th Test innings, Pant hit Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a six and became the third-fastest batter to achieve the feat.

Rishabh Pant looked in good touch as he hit six fours and two sixes, but was dismissed in the 32^nd over, before the end of the second session, scoring a 45-ball 46. With Pujara still standing strong on the crease, he was joined by Shreyas Iyer. They dominated the Bangladesh bowlers and took India to a comfortable position at the end of the day’s play.

Vintage Pujara to India's rescue

Pujara’s last few outings for India had not been memorable, but the veteran proved why he is the best in business, and showcased his signature Test form. Iyer, on the other hand, was rather quick. It was a lucky day for him, as he survived not just once, but twice in the game. After being dropped by Ebadot Hossain, he survived another scare when the ball hit the stumps but the bails did not come off.

The two batters brought up their respective half-centuries and put up a 149-run stand for the fifth wicket. It was Taijul Islam again, who got Bangladesh yet another breakthrough when he dismissed Pujara for a 203-ball 90, just ten runs shy of a long-awaited Test century. But the wait continues for Pujara. Axar Patel, who walked in next, was dismissed from the final delivery of the day.

After a sluggish start, the Pujara-Iyer partnership helped India end the day on a high note as India finished at 278/6. But Bangladesh did not leave any opportunity and they bounced back in the final session by picking up two wickets. All eyes will be on Shreyas Iyer on the second day as he inches closer to a century.

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