The Green Park in Kanpur sprung to life on Monday after two rain-washed days, thanks to the intent and aggression shown by Team India.
At stumps on the fourth day of the second Test, Bangladesh were looking nervous, still trailing by 26 runs in their second innings with eight wickets in hand.
India, the T20 World Cup champions, extended their white-ball template to Test cricket after Bangladesh were dismissed for 233 in their first innings after lunch.
Rohit smashed 23 off 11 balls, including consecutive sixes off the first two balls of the innings. He was ably assisted by opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal (72 off 51 balls) with the rest of the batting line-up following suit.
The approach saw them register the fastest team 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 in Test cricket before declaring their first innings on 285/9 in 34.4 overs. The Indian batters hit 28 fours and 11 sixes, collecting 158 runs in boundaries.
By stumps Bangladesh had been reduced to 26/2 and face an uphill task to keep a rampaging Indian attack at bay.
KL Rahul (68 off 43 balls) provided the fireworks towards the end as Bangladesh were sent on a leather hunt. He was at his dynamic best and put the stunned Bangladesh attack to the sword.
His 87-run stand with Virat Kohli (47 off 35) provided the tempo in the middle order. Shubman Gill (39 off 37) also got some quick runs, but the batting promotion of Rishabh Pant didn’t quite work.
India are going for the kill as an outright victory will consolidate their top position in the World Test Championship (WTC) table.
Considering the tougher assignments ahead, especially the five-Test series in Australia, India need as many wins as possible at home to get some cushion before the overseas tours. This series will be followed by a three-Test contest versus New Zealand at home.
India’s 285 came at a phenomenal scoring rate of 8.22 runs per over. This onslaught was also a few notches above England’s ‘Bazball’ style and clearly left Bangladesh shell shocked.
