India vs Bangladesh: Ashwin's all-round show, Rahul's poor run and other takeaways from Test series

Team India ended what was otherwise a disappointing year on a happy note thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer’s rescue act, which helped them post a thrilling win in Dhaka and sweep the Test series 2-0.

Read: Twitter hails Iyer and Ashwin for guiding visitors to thrilling win

Bangladesh had earlier set a competitive 145-run target on Day 3 following vital contributions from Litton Das and the rest of the lower order, and managed to snare four top-order wickets to put their more fancied neighbours under pressure right away, reducing them to 45/4 at stumps.

Shakib Al Hasan would then remove overnight batter Jaydev Unadkat on Sunday morning while Mehidy Hasan Miraz would grab the crucial wickets of Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel to complete his five-wicket haul as Bangladesh reduced India to 74/7, needing just three more wickets to complete a historic victory over India and level the series.

Iyer and Ashwin, though, had other plans as they batted cautiously early in their partnership, absorbing the pressure with the Tigers breathing down their necks, before shifting gears and putting the opposition under pressure with a superb counterattack. Ashwin was the aggressor-in-chief, scoring 42 off 62 in the unbroken 71-run stand which contained a six and four fours, including the winning boundary. Iyer, on the other hand, was unbeaten on 29, providing valuable support from the other end.

With the three-wicket win at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, India ensured they maintained their unbeaten run against Bangladesh in Tests — having now beaten them in 11 games and drawing twice.

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It also helped them end 2022, a year in which they lost Tests in South Africa and England and also dished out disappointing performances in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, on a happy note.

With India’s tour of Bangladesh coming to an end with the thrilling finish at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on Christmas Day, we take a look at five things we learnt from the Test series:

Rahul’s wretched form remains a worry 

Whether the team management and the selection committee continues to back KL Rahul as an opener across format or not remains to be seen but one thing’s for sure — Indian cricket fans sure are running out of patience, as is evident in the barrage of posts on social networking sites such as Twitter with a majority of them calling for the India vice-captain to be shown the door and return to the drawing board.

Rahul, who led the Indians in the two-Test series in the absence of the injured Rohit Sharma, managed to score just 57 runs across four outings at an average of 14.25, and was seen as something of a walking wicket. And the competition has only got tougher for him thanks to Shubman Gill’s impressive outing in the series, the youngster scoring his maiden Test hundred at Chattogram.

Pujara stays at No 3 for now

Pujara’s days in the Indian cricket team appeared to be all but over after he was dropped along with Ajinkya Rahane for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in February after a disappointing run in the South Africa tour. Following his latest display in the Bangladesh Tests, however, ChePu has ensured the No 3 spot in the Indian Test team remains firmly in his grasp.

After his fighting half-century in Birmingham during the rescheduled fifth Test against England, the Saurashtra batter produced an even better display against the Bangla Tigers on their own turf, finishing the leading run-scorer in the series with 202 runs at an average of 74 and being adjudged the ‘Player of the Series’ for his efforts.

Ashwin remains indispensable for India

Ashwin is fairly used to producing match-winning performances for India in the subcontinent, especially at home, with the ball in hand, and remains an indispensable member of the team when it comes to Tests in this part of the world.

On Sunday, Ashwin gave the team management and the fans a reminder of the value he brings to the side with the bat as he played the aggressor in a match-winning stand with Iyer. Ashwin hit a match-winning 42 and forged an unbroken 71-run stand with Iyer to guide the team home in a tense 145-run chase after starring with the ball earlier in the game — collecting 4/71 and 2/66 to be adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for his all-round show at Mirpur.

Mehidy cements stardom after watershed series

Mehidy Hasan Miraz had been counted among Bangladesh’s rising stars and was seen as someone who could rise to the level of Shakib Al Hasan’s greatness down the road. And following his performances against India both in the ODIs and Tests, the 25-year-old has effectively cemented his stardom following what surely is a watershed moment in his career.

Mehidy had helped the Bangladeshis seal the ODI series with back-to-back match-winning knocks and nearly pulled off a similar effort with the ball in hand in the second Test as he ran through the Indian batting order in a sensational spell, collecting his ninth Test five-for and reducing India to 74/7. What’s more, he nearly had Ashwin’s wicket, with the Indian No 9 getting dropped at short-leg on 1 when India still needed 65 runs to win, a drop that would later prove costly for the hosts.

With his haul of 5/63, Mehidy surged ahead of India’s Kuldeep Yadav to finish as the most successful bowler in the Test series with 11 wickets to his name.

A debut to remember for Zakir

Zakir Hasan is the form of his life at the moment, having enjoyed a dream debut series against India which has effectively cemented his place in the Test team at the top of the batting order.

After getting fast-tracked into the senior team following his heroics in the unofficial Test series between Bangladesh A and India A, Zakir would score a hundred on debut at Chattogram, leading Bangladesh’s fightback in the second innings even though it would not stop the dominant Indians from cruising to a commanding 188-run victory.

And to prove the Chattogram ton was not a one-off, he would produce another fighting display at Mirpur, scoring 51 in tricky conditions that, along with Litton Das and the lower-order’s contributions, helped the hosts set a competitive target for the visitors.

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