Chennai: India registered a thumping 280-run victory against Bangladesh in Chennai on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the 2-match series. Rohit Sharma’s men displayed utter dominance over their neighbours, who came into the series on the back of a landmark victory against Pakistan.
But India showed ‘Bangla Tigers’, who is the boss with a dominant performance to extend their supremacy at home. Rohit & Co are now just one win away from registering their 18th successive Test series win at home.
The second Test begins in Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium on Friday, September 27 and following the conclusion of the Bangladesh series, India will welcome New Zealand for a three-Test affair.
The Kiwis are currently in Sri Lanka for the two-Test series. The Islanders kicked off the series with a 63-run win in Galle earlier this morning (Monday).
While New Zealand lost the Test, one player stood out for the visitors with a superb bowling display. Indian-origin left-arm tweaker Ajaz Patel shone for the Kiwis, around 900 km away from Chennai, and in the process sounded a threat alarm for Indian batters.
Ajaz Patel a big threat to Indian batters
When India were celebrating the Chennai Test win, Patel was busy dismantling the Sri Lankan batting line-up in Galle. The Mumbai-born cricketer wreaked havoc with a sensational bowling display to derail the Sri Lankan innings, which was cruising at Stumps on Day 3 with 240 for 4. Ajaz took five of the remaining four wickets on Day 4 morning to help NZ bowl Sri Lanka out for 309 in the second innings.
Set a difficult target of 275, the visitors were bowled out for 211 on Day 5 to lose the match by 63 runs. Ajaz bagged six wickets in the second innings to finish with a match haul of eight wickets. Judging by the Galle display, Ajaz will prove more than handy against India in the upcoming Test series, starting on October 16.
India’s struggles against spin are well-documented and with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failing to fire in the opening Test against Bangladesh, Ajaz becomes a key bowling weapon for the Kiwis to prey on Indian batting’s frailties.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India’s two batting stalwarts, failed miserably in the Chennai Test. The superstar batters along with the rest of Indian batting line-up have received a warning ahead of New Zealand Test series. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
