The Indian bowlers had been made frustrated by the Bangladeshi opening pair of Najmul Hossain Shanto and Zakir Hasan in the second innings.
Chasing an inconceivable target of 513 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram in the first Test, Shanto and Hasan went quietly about their business and conjured up a 124-run opening stand, keeping the Indian bowlers at bay for 46 overs, giving a glimmer of hope for their team and their fans of a miracle in Chattogram.
They survived the last hour on Day 3, and then continued on defying the visitors their first breakthrough in the entire wicketless first session on Day 4, en route raising their respective half-centuries.
After Lunch, though, Shanto’s patience broke, and he edged an Umesh Yadav delivery, however, Kohli at first slip messed it up, but fortunately for India, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant showed good presence of mind and took the juggling catch.
Shanto gives a smiling response to Siraj’s sledging
Among the Indian bowlers, seamer Mohammed Siraj was clearly frustrated by the stoic partnership of Shanto and Hasan, and to disturb the left-hander, Siraj attempted to sledge Shanto.
In the 34th over of Bangladesh’s innings, after Shanto played a dot delivery, Siraj walked up to him and hurled some mouthful to which Shanto just put his head down and didn’t give any reaction.
When Siraj did it again, Shanto didn’t say anything, but just gave a smiling reaction. This response(or not of it) from Shanto was also appreciated by the commentators who were quick to recall Siraj’s verbal battle with Litton Das in the first innings.
Das had made a gesture after Siraj provoked him, but on the next ball was bowled and both Siraj and Kohli retorted with the same gesture. But here, Shanto remained calm and composed, knowing that Siraj was trying to break his mental barrier.
You can watch the video here:
The Siraj-Shanto episode pic.twitter.com/JUwFKk7kgg
— The Game Changer (@TheGame_26) December 17, 2022
Meanwhile, India have taken back-to-back wickets, dismissing Shanto and Yasir Ali at the start of the second session on Day 4. At the time of writing, Bangladesh need 372 runs with 8 wickets in hand.
