Chennai: Bangladesh batsmen put up a resistance early on the fourth day of the opening Test, not losing any wicket in the first hour of play.
But once local boy Ravichandran Ashwin was introduced into the attack, he quickly opened the floodgates as Bangladesh hurtled from 194/4 to 234 all out in just over 10 overs to hand Team India a 280-run victory.
Ashwin, who bagged three wickets on Saturday, finished with 6/88 to complete another memorable match on home turf after having compiled a brilliant century to rescue India in the first innings.
The 38-year-old Ashwin, who can claim to be a genuine allrounder, achieved a 5-wicket haul and a century in the same Test for the fourth time. Only England legend Ian Botham has done it more times (5).
India, who will be playing 10 Test matches in the next four months, are well placed in the race to next June’s World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Rohit Sharma’s men, already on top of the WTC standings, strengthened their position following the comprehensive win over Bangladesh in just over three days.
India’s points percentage (PCT) increased to 71.66, with a tally of 86 points from 10 Tests (7 wins, 2 lost, 1 draw).
Australia, who will host India for a crucial five-Test series from November to January, are in second place with a PCT of 62.50.
India need to win at least four more Tests to guarantee themselves a berth in the WTC final for the third straight cycle.
They have a good chance of achieving that as they play one more Test against Bangladesh and three versus New Zealand at home before travelling to Australia for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Test series.
Though they have featured in both WTC finals held so far, India are yet to lift the coveted trophy. They lost to England in 2021 and were beaten by Australia in 2023.
More wins than losses for first time
The Chennai triumph was a significant milestone for the Indian team.
For the first time since they made their entry into the Test arena, India boast of more victories than defeats. In 580 Test matches they have played over 92 years, India have now won 179 and lost 178.
Comments are closed.