R Ashwin dismantles Bangladesh as India win first Test by 280 runs; lead series 1-0

Chennai: After three days of utter dominance the result was a foregone conclusion and India expectedly wrapped up an emphatic victory in the opening Test against Bangladesh here on Sunday with R Ashwin shining the brightest in possibly his farewell international game at his home ground.

With Bangladesh starting the day at a shaky 158/4, still 357 runs behind the target of 515, it was more a matter of when India would seal the deal rather than if. And after a brief period of resistance from the overnight pair of Najmul Hossain Shanto (82) and Shakib Al Hasan (25), Indian spin kings Ashwin (6/88) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/58) just ran through the lower order, shooting out the visitors for 234 in the opening session itself for a 280-run win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

With clouds hovering over Chepauk and the wicket possessing some overnight moisture, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opted to kick-start proceedings with pacers Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. The duo were right on the money from the word go, constantly threatening the edges of both Shanto and Shakib.

Siraj bent his back admirably, mixing the full-length deliveries with short ones, while Bumrah was at his usual best, bowling just short of good length. They were extremely probing but skipper Shanto and the seasoned Shakib, apparently playing with a finger injury, were game for the challenge.

They knew a victory was improbable but the goal was to frustrate the Indians and delay the inevitable. They played and missed a lot of balls that saw Siraj exchange a few words, especially with Shanto from up close. Shanto and Shakib, however, didn’t lose their composure and carried on defying the Indians with a good blend of caution, aggression and luck.

The Indians though knew they were just one wicket away from opening the floodgates and hammering the nails on Bangladesh’s coffin. Who better than Ashwin, the undertaker for several batters and oppositions over the last decade with his ingenuity, to lead the charge in laying the final rites.

Charged up after drinks and almost perplexed at not having got the ball, the 38-year-old Ashwin struck in the very first over. With the pitch still offering good bounce, the crafty off-spinner drew Shakib forward and the ball caught the left-hander’s edge before landing in the arms of Yashasvi Jaiswal at backward short leg.

From therein (194/5), the Bangladesh innings just fell apart like a pack of cards. Batter after batter just came in, slogged their arms and departed without making any meaningful contributions. The Indians were not complaining and lapped up the freebies with arms wide open to the delight of the local crowd, around 15,000 of them who made it to watch an Indian win.

What gave them more joy was watching Ashwin continuing to unleash his magic at his beloved venue. After having whetted their appetite with a game-changing century in the opening innings, he finished the game with a 6/88 show.

It was his 37th five-wicket haul, matching the mark set by leg-spinning great Shane Warne. It was also Ashwin’s seventh fifer in the fourth innings, the joint second-most with Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan and behind only Rangana Herath (12).

It was also the fourth time Ashwin had scored a century and bagged a fifer in the same Test, just one behind England great Ian Botham. It was also Ashwin’s 10th Player of the Match performance in his 101st Test.

The icing on the cake though was Ashwin becoming the first player to achieve the feat of scoring a century and bagging a fifer in a Test at the same venue twice. Ashwin, embraced his wife and two daughters at the end of the game, walked away delighted as did the Indians at having completed their job in a thoroughly professional manner.