Cricket: On Sunday, India defeated Bangladesh by three wickets in the second test to complete a 2-0 series sweep in Mirpur. India overcame a batting collapse to reach the target in the first session of the penultimate day at Mirpur’s Shere Bangla National Stadium, chasing 145 for victory on a turning track.
Ravichandran Ashwin scored an unbeaten 42 for India, while off-spinner Mehidy Hasan (5-63) was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers.
Bangladesh had won the previous one-day international series between the neighbours 2-1.
This is some achievement!
👏👏👏#BANvIND #BANvsIND #INDvsBAN pic.twitter.com/iULayPCZTh— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) December 23, 2022
Cheteshwar Pujara: 222 runs in 2 Tests at an average of 74.00
Ravi Ashwin The GOAT of Test cricket!#BANvIND #INDvsBAN pic.twitter.com/ktoLVdF8jz
— Cricket Master (@Master__Cricket) December 25, 2022
A little further to the east, the Babar Azam-led Pakistan team, who were keeping a close eye on the Mirpur Test, were planning their celebrations. However, Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin had other ideas. They put on a counterpunching partnership, leaving Bangladesh completely befuddled as India cruised to a three-wicket victory. With the victory in Mirpur, India completed a clean sweep of Bangladesh, Pakistan was left on thin ice in their quest for a spot in the World Test Championship final.
Pakistan now has a two-match home series against New Zealand coming up, and if they can blank the Kane Williamson-led side, they will end their 2021/23 WTC cycle with 47.62%, which is good enough to finish second, ahead of India.
However, the unbeaten 71-run stand between Iyer and Ashwin for the eighth wicket, India’s second-highest ever in the fourth innings of a Test match, not only solidified India’s chances of reaching the WTC final, but also made things more difficult for Pakistan.
Iyer and Ashwin, on the other hand, kept their cool and rotated the strike at regular intervals, punishing bad deliveries in the process. Ashwin eventually scored the winning runs, scoring a boundary to help India reach the target in the run-chase.
