On a strange Chennai day, Ashwin and Jadeja lead a familiar rescue act

It was quite an unfamiliar setting in Chennai. A thick cover of clouds greeted India and Bangladesh on the opening day of the Test series. The pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium had an unusual tinge of green as well. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto became the first in 42 years to win the toss and opt to bowl in the South Indian city. And a Bangladesh pacer ran riot in the first two sessions, making good use of the ‘London-like conditions’ in Chennai.
The day of unfamiliar occurrences ended with a familiar rescue act from India’s reliable all-rounders — R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. India went from 144 for 6 to finish the opening day’s play at 339 for 6 as Ashwin and Jadeja frustrated the Bangladesh bowlers, dampening their hopes of bowling India out cheaply in the first innings. The duo added a 100-plus stand for the second time together, taking the seventh-wicket partnership to an unbeaten 195 (227 deliveries) when the play came to a close after 30 minutes of added time.
The opening day in Chennai was similar to a Kollywood potboiler as the crowd favourite kept taking the punches in the first half before giving it back to the opposition in the second.
IND v BAN, Chennai Test: Day 1 Highlights
Hometown hero R Ashwin was the star of India’s recovery as he thrilled the local crowd on Thursday, hitting his sixth Test hundred. Ashwin got to his second Test hundred at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (and his fastest) in just 108 balls as he was at his confident best from the word go, counter-attacking the Bangladesh bowlers.
Ashwin became only the second Indian batter after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to hit hundreds in successive Test matches at the iconic venue in Chennai.
Ashwin thrilled the local crowd as fans, across all age groups, were hooting and clapping when the off-spinner effortlessly hit big ones. The second-ranked all-rounder hit 10 boundaries and two sixes, continuing from where he left in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.
On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja was happy to take a back seat and allow his spin twin to dominate the proceedings. However, Jadeja did not miss out on an opportunity to put the loose balls away, getting close to another fighting hundred in his decorated Test career. Jadeja remained unbeaten on 86 after having orchestrated another memorable rescue act.
Ashwin and Jadeja became the second batting pair for India after Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani to stitch 500-plus for partnerships at the 7th wicket or lower at home in Test cricket.
Ashwin hadn’t played a competitive match at the highest level after the Indian Premier League. While some of the Test stars played in the T20 World Cup and the tour of Sri Lanka, Ashwin played T20 cricket in the recently concluded edition of TNPL, hitting 252 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 150.
Ashwin highlighted that he wanted to take Rishabh Pant’s route, looking at the spicy nature of the pitch in the first two sessions. He explained the reason behind the counter-attacking masterclass.
“Helps that I’m coming off a T20 tournament, I’ve always been giving the ball a waft. But on a surface like this, it’s better to go hard like Rishabh does. It’s an old-school Chennai surface with bounce and carry. When there is width, you can give it a tonk,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin credited Jadeja’s role in the sensational partnership as the Chennai Super Kings star made sure he never allowed the bowlers to pile up pressure on one batter. Jadeja kept the scorers busy and brought out the big shots when needed and even pushed Ashwin to take a couple of threes in the final session of the day.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh looked poised to bowl India out for less than 200.
India’s top-order struggled against Hasan Mahmud, the 24-year-old fast bowler who swung the ball both ways on a nippy morning. Captain Rohit fell for six while Shubman Gill was dismissed for 0. Virat Kohli, who returned to Test cricket for the first time since January, managed just six before falling prey to a perfectly set-up delivery on the fourth stump.
India were reduced to 34 for 3 before Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal added 62 runs for the fourth wicket. Returning to Test cricket after nearly two years, Pant showed glimpses of his vintage self, hitting six boundaries for his 52-ball 39. Pant looked solid as ever, hitting the drives and pulling the short balls with ease.
However, a moment of lapse in concentration after the Lunch break led to his dismissal and the fourth wicket for Hasan Mahmud.
KL Rahul, who was picked ahead of Sarfaraz Khan, managed 16 runs, but he punctured the momentum of the Indian innings. Rahul’s place in the side was questioned by a section of fans after the disappointing knock on Thursday. Rahul never looked in control of the proceedings and did not rotate the strike during his partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Young Yashasvi, who hit another fifty at home, was not able to convert it into a three-figure score as he fell to tall pacer Nahid Rana in the second session. Yashasvi and Rahul’s partnership did not take the Indian innings forward as Bangladesh were able to tie both the batters down after Lunch.
However, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jaddeja ensured the first day of the first Test of India’s home season belonged to the home team.