India vs Bangladesh: How visitors played into India’s hands by opting to bat first

Ind vs Ban: Despite all the talks of the difficulties to bat under lights against the pink ball and the twilight factor, statistically, the first session has been the most difficult one for batsmen.

There was a collective sigh in the Eden Gardens press box from the Bangladeshi media persons when Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque opted to bat first after winning the toss in the historic Day/Night Test match against India in Kolkata. At the same point of time, an entirely opposite reaction came from the crowd. Mominul’s decision was greeted with huge cheers. The reporters knew, the crowd had a fair idea too that Bangladesh might just have just thrown away the toss advantage.

Indian players celebrate after the fall of a wicket during first day of Day-Night Test.(HT Photo/ Samir Jana)

After two hours of the first ever pink ball Test in India, the fear for Bangladesh became a reality as the Indian fast bowlers – Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami – bulldozed through the visitors’ top-order, leaving them gasping for breath at 73 for six.

Despite all the talks of the difficulties to bat under lights against the pink ball and the twilight factor, statistically, the first session has been the most difficult one for batsmen. 143 wickets have fallen in the first session of 11 Day/Night Tests, add six wickets that fell on Friday, the number goes up to 149 – which is the most among three sessions. Under lights, teams have lost 117 wickets, while the second session has been the most productive one for batsmen. If we break it down further, then 33 wickets have fallen on Day 1 of the first session of a Test match, 31 on Day 2 and 48 on Day 3.

After winning the toss, Bangladesh had the opportunity to invite India to bat and hit them hard when the pitch was fresh. With three seamers in the squad and a skiddy customer like Al Amin, who was brought into the side in place of left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, they could well have put India’s batting under pressure with the pink ball, which arguably swings more than the red one when new. But it was a case of ifs and buts for Bangladesh now. As the Indian pacers made them pay a heavy price.

The six wickets that Bangladesh lost is the most on the first session of a Day 1 in Test matches under lights after the England vs New Zealand Test in 2018, when England were bowled out in the first two hours.

Eden Gardens chief curator Sujan Mukherjee had told Hindustan Times that teams winning the toss should definitely consider fielding first as that would allow them to asses the conditions and give an idea on how to play against the pink ball on a surface which looks greener than usual.

Mominul might point out India captain Virat Kohli’s willingness to bat first too but what the Bangladesh team management failed to take into consideration is the differences of quality between the two sides. India can well afford to show the bravado with the kind of batting line-up they have but Mominul perhaps didn’t have that luxury. Their faulty technique and lack of application were exposed earlier by the Indian seamers in Indore. The writing was on the wall that Bangladesh batsmen would struggle against Shami, Ishant and Umesh with the pink further adding to their armoury.

This, however, takes nothing away from the performance put in by Shami, Ishant and Umesh. Ishant gave India the first breakthrough and then a change of end gave a turnaround to Umesh’s performance. He picked three wickets in the second spell. Shami, who threatened with bouncers and even forced Liton Das to retire hurt got the prized wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim for a duck. Ishant then came back to give another blow to Bangladesh just before lunch.