IND vs BAN 2nd Test: Last day promises fireworks after India go bang, bang!

Itrsquos only a selfless and aggressive captain like Rohit Sharma who can make a dead match come alive In recent times we have seen how aggressively the Indian skipper has handled the team and led from the front with his aggressive batting at the top in both ODIs and T20Is And after only 35 overs could be bowled in the first three days due to rain and a wet outfield the second Test between India and Bangladesh at the Green Park stadium seemed dead and buried But Rohit is not one to sit back and moan and groanRohit Sharma hammers a six against Bangladesh yesterday PicGetty ImagesRohit Sharma first handled his bowling attack very well to bundle out the visitors just after the lunch interval and then set the tempo for quick runs by hammering the first two balls he faced for successive sixes He did not play safe at any moment and declared the innings late in the evening to grab two rival wickets to keep alive the hopes of a win going into the final day todayWhen play finally got underway in bright sunshine on Monday the Indian bowlers bowled their hearts out to wind up the Bangladesh first innings for a mere 233 runs What followed from the Indian batters over the next 35 overs put even the socalled Bazball cricket into the shade as they scored at a whopping rate of 822 runs per over to declare the innings at 2859 with 19 overs left before close With a small lead of 52 runs in the remaining period they then grabbed two wickets for 26 runsAlso ReadSachin Tendulkar to play in inaugural edition of International Masters LeagueCrucial role played by WTCThe World Test Championship has clearly given context to Test cricket In the past in such a rainhit match the players wouldrsquove played only for personal milestones but not anymore A Test win earns 12 points while a draw only four In a close race to the WTC final missing out on eight points can prove fatal Thatrsquos why the spectators were witness to some thrilling cricket on the fourth day after nearly two full days were washed out leaving the match dead and buried Credit must go to the Indian thinktank for bringing the match alive so much so that the final dayrsquos play has become interesting with the possibility of a resultYashasvi Jaiswal during his 72 yesterday PicAFPIndia bowled and fielded brilliantly in the morning as all the bowlers were fired up Jasprit Bumrah who was listless on the opening day was a different bowler and troubled the batters with late movement He claimed the important wicket of veteran Mushfiqur Rahim to open a window for his team Thereafter wickets kept falling regularly It was only Mominul Haque who held one end up and played a lone hand to remain unbeaten on 107 It was his 13th Test century the most by a Bangladesh batter ahead of Mushfiqurrsquos 11 and Tamim Iqbalrsquos 10 Sadly for Mominul he did not get much support as Bangladeshrsquos innings terminated under 30 more overs in the morning Thereafter all eyes were on the Indian batters to see what strategy they would adopt to put their rivals under pressure India openers Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal came out firing on all cylinders They made their intentions clear garnering 50 runs within three overs the quickest in world cricket history And despite losing wickets they continued scoring briskly India got to 100 in 101 overs the fastest in Tests where ballbyball data is available They got to 250 in just 301 overs again the fastest in Tests Almost every Indian batter contributed Jaiswal 72 off 51 Rohit 23 in 11 Shubman Gill 39 in 36 Virat Kohli 47 in 35 and KL Rahul a brisk 68 from only 43 deliveriesBrave optionRather than piling up runs with steady batting collecting a lead of 200plus and then trying to bowl out Bangladesh in the second stint India chose the braver option of getting a small lead and trying to wrap up the match by chasing a target on the final day It remains to be seen if the Bangladesh batters succumb and hand India a muchneeded victoryIndiarsquos route to 2025 WTC finalAfter the Bangladesh series India will play eight more Testsmdashthree at home against New Zealand and five away against Australia as they look to qualify for next yearrsquos World Test Championship final However the outcome of the ongoing Kanpur Test against Bangladesh could alter Indiarsquos path to the WTC final If India register a 20 series whitewash over Bangladesh then Rohit Sharma amp Co will need to win any three of their remaining eight Tests But if the second Test against Bangladesh ends in a draw India will then need to register five wins and one draw in their remaining eight Tests However if Bangladesh win the Kanpur Test then India will need to register a 30 series sweep against New Zealand27012No of international runs scored by Virat Kohli making him only the fourth player to go past 27000plus runs30No of overs India took to reach 50 the fastest ever in menrsquos Tests India were also fastest to the 100 150 200 and 250 marks822Indiarsquos run rate in the first innings which is the highest ever for a menrsquos Test innings