Ashwin shines, India defeats Bangladesh by huge margin of 280 runs

For the first hour on Sunday Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan rode their luck and showed plenty of pluck to keep a rampant Mohammed Siraj and India at bay Then Rohit Sharma summoned his ace in the pack immediately after the drinks interval and the first Test quickly unravelled towards its expected denouement at the MA Chidambaram Stadium hereR Ashwin has been a champion performer for the country for more than a decade and he reiterated his value despite turning 38 a few days back with another telling exhibition of offspin at his home ground He took only four deliveries to make his presence felt having Shakib smartly caught at a squarish shortleg by Yashasvi Jaiswal to set the cat amongst the pigeonsLowerorder collapseFrom 1944 Bangladesh tumbled to 234 all out losing six for 40 in 64 deliveries to hand India victory in the first Test by a commanding margin of 280 runs with more than five sessions still left The rapidity with which the wickets tumbled in the second hour of Day Four was in keeping with the pace at which the game unfolds in the subcontinent and especially in India when once they have their tails up Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are virtually unplayableAlso ReadRachin Ravindras unbeaten 91 runs help NZ give a chance to secure win over SLAshwin finished with 688 his 37th fivewicket taking him to joint second alongside the great Shane Warne in the list of Test bowlers with most fivefors Muttiah Muralitharan the most prolific wickettaker in the format tops allcomers with a staggering 67 fivewicket hauls By backing up his sixth Test hundred with a fivefor Ashwin moved to within one of Ian Bothamrsquos record of scoring a hundred and taking five wickets in an innings in the same Test five timesStatistics donrsquot always tell the true tale but they are revelatory too and these extraordinary numbers are further indications of the legacy Ashwin will leave behind Having bided his time before being thrown the ball at the start of the second hour he immediately fell into his rhythm during a spell of 60253 though it was Jadeja who ended skipper Shantorsquos impressive threehour stay worth 82 courtesy a good catch at a deep wide midoff by Jasprit BumrahJadeja used the rough outside the lefthanderrsquos offstump excellently and should have had Shakib stumped when the batter was 17 but Rishabh Pant made a rare lapse in an otherwise memorable comeback game to reprieve the former skipper However Shakibrsquos luck ran out not long thereafter and once the stubborn fifthwicket resistance was snapped India moved in swiftly for the killHosts solidify top spotHaving shown heart at various stages in the game Bangladesh keeled over like a pack of cards with the writing on the wall a far cry from the resilience they had revealed in Pakistan not long back India are made of sterner stuff not without reason are they nearinvincible at home and the 12 points from this latest victory have cemented their place at the top of the World Test Championship points tablelsquoBounce here was daunting for battersrsquoR Ashwin continued his absolute dominance over batters during the first Test against Bangladesh returning with a sixwicket haul and the star offspinner said he enjoyed every moment of bowling on a redsoil pitch which often perceived as pacerfriendly because of the steep bounce it offered Ashwinrsquos skillsets and a sharp cricketing brain helped him exploit the bounce on the pitch rather than waiting for the deck to offer spin ldquoLook I think this pitch even if you bowl good balls you will go for runs But the bounce is going to be quite daunting The beauty about red soil is you put revs on it there is value and there is bouncerdquo Ashwin told reporters during the postmatch press meet In fact the Chennaiite went ahead and said he preferred to play on such tracks rather than the blacksoil onesBrief scoresIndia 376 amp 2874d beat Bangladesh 149 amp 234 N Shanto 82 R Ashwin 688 R Jadeja 358 by 280 runs