Chennai: After a shaky start, the all-rounder duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja stepped up to lead India to a solid total of 339/6 on the opening day of the Test match against Bangladesh. Ashwin anchored the innings with a brilliant unbeaten 102, while Jadeja supported him with a resilient 82.
Bangladesh won the toss at MA Chidambaram Stadium and opted to bowl first, capitalizing on early seam movement and bounce. Fast bowler Hasan Mahmud made an immediate impact, dismantling India’s top order and leaving them reeling at 34/3.
Despite the early setbacks, Yashasvi Jaiswal (56) and Rishabh Pant (39) stabilized the innings with a crucial 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket. However, once Pant fell to Mahmud, Jaiswal soon followed, and KL Rahul contributed a mere 16 runs.
It was then that Ashwin and Jadeja took control, forming a record-breaking unbeaten partnership of 195 runs for the seventh wicket. This stands as the highest for India against Bangladesh, eclipsing the previous record of 121 runs set by Sourav Ganguly and Sunil Joshi 24 years ago.
With Ashwin’s century marking his sixth in Test cricket, the duo’s performance not only salvaged the innings but also set a strong foundation for India as they look to dominate the match.
