Bangladesh pacers create a buzz

Chenna: Perhaps, for the first time since Bangladesh’s initiation into Test cricket in November 2000, there has been plenty of buzz about their pace attack. The trio of Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana arrived in India after playing a stellar role in the historic 2-0 away triumph over Pakistan and the pre-match press conferences here too were all about them.

Fans in India and the wider cricketing world couldn’t view their heroics in Pakistan owing to the lack of television coverage and comprehend why there is so much hype, especially about Mahmud and Rana, in Bangladesh with many pundits there hailing them as stars in the making. On Thursday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the duo gave a good demonstration of the potential they possess to become future pillars of Bangladesh pace attack. 

The 24-year-old Mahmud, who bagged eight wickets against Pakistan that included a fifer in the second game, impressed the most with a 4/58 effort. First groomed as white-ball specialist but now fast-tracked to red-ball as Bangladesh target Test wins on the road, Mahmud got the ball to swing both ways to cause plenty of problems for the Indian top-order.

A series of in-swingers were followed by a deadly out-swinger, one of which saw the back of Virat Kohli. Mahmud’s ability to constantly keep the ball in the channel around the off stump meant shot-making too was difficult which forced guys like Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant into errors, the duo literally gifting their wickets on a platter to loose balls.

Rana could only bag one wicket and went for runs in the third session as R Ashwin flayed him all over the park but in the opening two he was excellent. Blessed with disconcerting pace, the 21-year-old Rana got the the ball to zip and fly.

In search of extreme speed, he erred in lines at times but whenever he got the ball to pitch in and around stumps, he was a menace. The dismissal of a well-set Yashasvi Jaiswal was an example with the opener totally befuddled  by a wobbled-seam 148-kmph-bullet that moved around his off-stump.

Both Mahmud, whose celebrations are muted after taking a wicket, and Rana vindicated their skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s bold decision to bowl first after winning the toss, something which had not happened in nearly four decades at Chepauk. They made the utmost use of the early moisture, overcast conditions and bounce in the wicket, barely lifting the noose off the Indians’ necks in the opening two sessions.

It was a solid account of their talent but their inexperience was also on display in the final session when the wicket eased up and Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja counter-attacked them. They struggled to maintain the consistency, especially Rana who was all over the place. He either bowled too short or too full and Ashwin and Jadeja easily picked him apart.

A lot more cricket is left in the series and there are a lot of learnings as well. Bangladesh will be hoping they progress as planned.