IND vs BDESH 2024/25, IND vs BAN 1st Test Match Report, 19-23 September 2024

India 376 and 205 for 3 (Gill 86*, Pant 82*) lead Bangladesh 149 out of 432 runs

Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant hit their half-centuries as India came close to eliminating Bangladesh from the Test with a wicketless first session on day three in Chennai. The ease with which India batted was evident as the average seam movement dropped from 1.3 degrees on day one to 0.4 degrees on day three; despite bowling well, Bangladesh could only generate 13 false replies in the entire session. They will only hope that such flatness continues when it is their turn to chase the inevitable mountain of runs.

Gill and Pant, both aggressive, counter-attacking batsmen, admitted that only they could get out and ducked their heads to get the big shots. They continued to respect the good balls and occasionally came out of line to hit sixes. Gill hit Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who bowled from one end for almost the entire session, to make it three-on-three for 27 sixes in his 26th Test; Pant scored 58 in just 34 Tests, but also for the first time in almost two years.

Unlike Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma on the third night, who simply tried to impose themselves on the bowling, these two started the day with respect for the bowling and with the ability to afford to defend themselves for a while, without worrying about the edges and the fielders playing close. It was only in the seventh over of the day that someone tried to force the situation, and Gill did so beautifully with two sixes over wide long-on.

Pant, acutely aware that he could not give the ball away after being dismissed softly in the first over, waited even longer before producing deliveries – none better than Hasan Mahmud’s ramp-sweep six over fine leg 10 minutes before lunch.

Gill joined the pre-lunch acceleration, suggesting a declaration might come sooner rather than later. With this push for faster runs, Pant’s skier appeared seven minutes before the break, but captain Najmul Hossain Shanto kept him out. Pant still hit two fours in the final over before the break, throwing down the gauntlet in the race for a hundred.