1st Test
Day-3 Afternoon Session Highlights:
Bangladesh has made a steady start in their pursuit of 515 after centuries from Pant and Gill
At The Tea of Day-3:
India scored 376 (1st Innings) & 287/4 decl (2nd Innings), where as Bangladesh scored 149 (1st Innings) & 56/0 (2nd Innings).
So, finally Bangladesh need 459 runs.
Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant scored brilliant centuries, putting together a commanding 167-run partnership as India declared with a massive 514-run lead, leaving Bangladesh facing a daunting challenge in the final innings.
Despite overnight and early morning rain, play started on time under overcast skies.
Pant quickly got India going with a pull shot off Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a boundary, soon followed by another controlled pull off Hasan Mahmud.
Gill, starting cautiously, unleashed his aggression by striking two sixes off Mehidy, bringing up a well-crafted half-century.
Their fifty-run partnership came soon after, pushing India’s lead past 350.
However, the first hour saw a watchful approach from the pair, with India managing 48 runs in 15 overs, including another boundary from Pant off Mehidy.
Pant reached his fifty about 30 minutes into the second hour, taking 88 balls to get there after starting the day on 12 off 13.
Both batters waited for loose deliveries to capitalize on, with Gill dispatching a slow, short ball from Mahmud for a boundary, followed by Pant coming down the track to Mehidy, lofting an inside-out shot for four.
Gill also stepped out to Mehidy, just clearing the long-on boundary for his third six.
Pant’s reverse sweep off Shakib Al Hasan brought up the century stand, and he soon shifted gears, punching a Mahmud delivery for a boundary and following it up with a lap shot for six.
Gill, too, showed intent, turning a delivery from Shakib into a full-toss and placing it wide of cover for a boundary.
Bangladesh’s woes deepened when their captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, dropped Pant, who then capitalized by hitting two more boundaries off Shakib in the final over before Lunch, firmly establishing India’s dominance.
Post-Lunch, Pant accelerated, racing through the 80s and 90s with a series of boundaries before notching his sixth Test century, marking a remarkable comeback after two years.
He was eventually caught and bowled by Mehidy, but Gill continued, reaching his fifth Test hundred as India piled on the pressure.
The declaration came with about an hour remaining in the second session.
Bangladesh’s openers responded confidently, heading into the break with an unbeaten 56-run stand, laying a steady foundation for their daunting chase.
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