India A won the first unofficial Test following a dominant performance on the first day, with particular contributions from Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar.
India A dominated Bangladesh A on the first day of the inaugural unofficial Test on Tuesday at Cox’s Bazar, thanks in large part to the efforts of the pace-spin duo of Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar. After India A won the toss and was elected to field, wicketkeepers Saini (3/21), Saurabh (4/23), and Mukesh Kumar (2/25) combined to bowl out their opponents for a meager 112 in 45 overs. By the time stumps were drawn, the visitors had responded impressively, reaching 120 for no loss and taking a narrow eight-run lead.
At the end of the first day, both Yashasvi Jaiswal (61) and India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (53) were in fine form.
After losing five of their first six wickets to Saini and Mukesh with only 63 runs on the board, the hosts rallied considerably thanks to Mosaddek Hossain’s 63.
After Bangladesh had fallen to 26 for 5, Hossain rallied them with a flurry of boundaries and sixes.
But the home team’s batting woes were compounded by its inability to score runs off left-arm spinner Saurabh, who ran through the lower order on his way to superb numbers.
The 29-year-old Saurabh’s performance is crucial because should star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja be unable to play in the forthcoming two-match series in Bangladesh, he would be called upon to join the Indian Test side.
When it was India A’s turn to bat, the young pairing of Jaiswal and Easwaran did a fine job of not just adding 120 runs but also scoring them quickly.
At the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium, Jaiswal hit eight fours in his 106-ball performance, while Easwaran hit the fence six times.
In the first game, Jaiswal will look to build on the good foundation laid by veteran Easwaran by scoring his sixth hundred in only his eighth first-class match.
Delhi pacer Saini delivered the opening blow earlier in the day, bowling Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who was out to a late swing.
Mukesh removed Mominul Haque’s wicket before he bowled the other opener, Zakir Hasan, caught behind.
After Mohammad Mithun, captain of Bangladesh A, went for a wide one, Bangladesh A was reduced to a precarious 26 for five when Saini caught Najmul Hossain Shanto at the third slip.
Even though Mosaddek tried to get things going again, he had no help at the other end.
As bowlers like Khaled Ahmed, Rejaur Rahman Raja, and Taijul Islam struggled to create a breakthrough or control the Indian opening pair, the hosts eventually succumbed.
