India won by an innings and 46 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Ishant Sharma
Batter
Bowler
Home or away - tick, spinners - tick, batters - tick, pacers - double tick. India are in that kinda zone right now. All we can do is sit back and allow their cricket to talk. Bangladesh have been thrashed mercilessly and the absence of some of their senior players clearly exposed the obvious cracks in their side. About time, their young(er) players step up. That, ladies and gents, is a wrap of Bangladesh's tour of India. Until next time, this is Raju Peethala waving goodbye on behalf of my colleagues Ramakrishnan MS, Sagar Chawla and the 'not-concussion-substitutes' Akshay Maanay, Vineeth "Vaneetha" Anantharaman" and Rishi Roy. Our scorer Harish V gestures a 'thumbs up'. Curtains down!!
They don't call it 'The City of Joy' for no reason. Kolkata and its people are full of life and they welcomed India's maiden Day-Night Test with open arms and rallied around the two-and-a-mini-quarter days of this game with unparalleled enthusiasm. Virat Kohli took just five seconds to say yes to this experiment (read: Pink Ball Test) and the pace at which Bangladesh lost wickets in this game....erm I'll leave it there. There's only so much we (commentators by profession and self-claimed analysts) can add to what has been a thoroughly dominating phase in Indian cricket.
Sourav Ganguly and Nazmul Hasan present the trophy to Virat Kohli and the Indian skipper's quick to hand it over to Srikar Bharat - the standby who arrived yesterday morning - and it's all smiles as the team pose for the cameras. Such a wonderful gesture from the Indian skipper as Bharat - who never played any international cricket - beams like he's on top of the world. The photos are done and the Indian team rally on the sidelines with the trophy thanking every corner of this Eden Gardens' crowd. Kohli looks to be in the mood for a dance and no-one, absolutely no-one has left the ground. Most of them are trying to capture whatever little they could of the players. Sourav Ganguly is a proud man watching this Indian team take a stroll on his home ground and there are plenty of 'Paisa-vasool' scenes sparking every second as Kohli waves and moseys his back to the dressing room. Sigh!
Observations about the Pink SG ball: Adding to what Ishant already mentioned, the Pink ball did not do a great deal early on and whatever movement the Indian bowlers generated was mainly down to the use of the seam and pitching in the so-called 'right' areas. Shami is a master of seam movement and IMHO, he looked a different beast in the first innings. Although his numbers may not back my conviction, it was his spell that created all the havoc and his bowling partners reaped the rewards for the same. The twilight session had its own challenges, as the extra lacquer on the ball may have caused visibility concerns to the players. And if you are facing the new ball in this period, good luck. Ishant was swinging it a mile. Even Bangladesh got wickets when they took the second new ball. Batting became slightly ease as the final session progressed. Not much of swing and dew has to be factored in as well. Dew does make the ball wet, thereby killing movement and the pitch becoming better for batsmen. Luckily though, dew did not have a great say on both days in this game. As far as the fielding is concerned, the ball was travelling like a rocket from the bat. Edges flew and the catchers had to be really alert. Unfortunately the spinners did not have much of a time to get the understanding on those dimensions. This experiment is done. We have got an idea but it will take a few more games and perhaps a better visiting side to reassess all the perceptions we have about the Pink nut.
Virat Kohli (2/2): The idea is to establish yourself in the middle. Test cricket is a mental battle, we all know that. I mean in the past nobody was trying to injure or hurt the batsman. It was all about getting into their heads and getting them out which used to happen, but now we have learnt to stand up and give it back. It all started with Dada's team and we are just carrying it forward. The bowling group now is fearless and they believe in themselves playing against any batsman. We are reaping the rewards for all the hard work we put in the last 3-4 years. When the team is in sync you need to say much. These guys know what exactly they need to do. I was thinking if they announce me as the Man of the Match, it should go to one of the bowlers. In India picking nine wickets each is special. I thought Umesh or Ishant, either could have got the award. It felt good. Conditions were challenging with the pink ball under lights. It puts you in a situation to get your technique right and get into that Test match mode try to see off the situation and that's the fun of Test matches when bowlers put you under pressure and you eventually come on top and score runs.
Virat Kohli, Indian skipper (1/2): Amazing (crowd). The numbers have only gotten better. I think yesterday was even more than Day 1 and we didn't expect so many people would turn up today especially us having chance of finishing the game very early, but still to see so many people witnessing an Indian win in the stadium is special and I think it sets a great example and also reiterates the point I made about Test centres (smiles)... it's a good step forward in that regard. Only your belief can make you win. If you feel fast bowlers are not in the game then you are already into a negative mindset. With the way these guys are bowling now, they can pick up wickets on any surface at home or away. Even the spinners, if they play away from home, they should have the belief that they can take a fifer. So I think it's all about the mindset you walk in with. If you have a set template saying I might not be bowling that much in the game, then your body language is such... These guys are very hungry and I feel we are in the right kind of space to capitalise on opportunities and everyone is enjoying playing in this team. That's the standout feature about us.
Ishant Sharma | Player of the Match | Player of the series: Shami told me to give him whatever I'm carrying in my pocket (laughs). We enjoy each others' success as fast bowlers. I'm just hitting the right areas and sticking to my plans. We developed that in the last game (the leg-cutting ball coming into the left-hander from round the wicket) and we had chats with the bowling coach and batting coach who thought it was a fluke, but I bowled that ball deliberately and I did the same this game. When we started it didn't swing and last night it swung and we adjusted to the conditions very well.
Mominul Haque | Bangladesh skipper: Definitely a bit concerned and it's very disappointing for everyone. We have to learn from the last two games and not repeat mistakes. I think the Pink Ball was challenging especially because it moved a lot with the new ball. If I look back, there were positives. Ebadot bowled really well and Mushy (bhai) and Liton showed what they can do with the bat. Indore was a dry wicket and I don't think it would make any difference whether we batted first or bowled first.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and BCB's president Nazmul Hasan are present among the dignitaries
Harsha Bhogle: And there it is. Afraid it has been a one-sided series. India have been too good for their opponents at test cricket in this home season.
Stats, by Deepu Narayanan:
This is the FIRST instance of a team winning four consecutive Tests by an innings margin.
India's last four Tests:
- Beat SA by innings & 137 runs, Pune
- Beat SA by innings & 202 runs, Ranchi
- Beat Ban by innings & 130 runs, Indore
- Beat Ban by innings & 46 runs, Kolkata
Most wickets by Indian pacers in a Test
20 vs SA Joburg 2017/18
19 vs Eng Trent Bridge 2018
19 vs Ban Kolkata 2019/20 *
This is only the second instance of Indian spinners going wicketless in a home Test where they have bowled at least one ball - previous instance being India vs Sri Lanka at the same venue in 2017/18.
Captains with most Test wins
53 Graeme Smith
48 Ricky Ponting
41 Steve Waugh
36 Clive Lloyd
33 VIRAT KOHLI
32 Allan Border
Most wickets by Indian pacers in a home Test
19 vs Ban Kolkata 2019/20 *
17 vs SL Kolkata 2017/18
16 vs Eng Chennai 1933/34
16 vs Pak Delhi 1979/80
16 vs Pak Kolkata 1998/99
Impromptu Interviews:
Ravi Shastri | India Head coach: Great to see the team bowling as a unit. You feel proud as an Indian seeing men at work in such a professional manner. It's taken time. I think the last 15 months in foreign territory has made them understand how important it is to support one another and bowl as a unit. That's when you create pressure, that's when things happen. There has been a lot of hard work. I think the discipline and hunger to win is a major factor in this team. They know they are arguably the best side in the world and they have been for some time at this level. They want to win every game and they know there are no shortcuts. They know it's work across five days and it's work as a team put across the table. Individuals are not going to win it, it's going a team effort and they think in that fashion... and when you have a crowd like this, they don't need motivation. They (crowd) were behind them all the time and the bowlers were charged up in this game more than in many games I have seen. They (Bangladesh) need exposure. They are work in progress. They are strong in their country but when they travel there is plenty to be learnt. Mushfiqur showed how determined a player he is. Yes they missed Shakib and Tamim. But I think the more the exposure they get the better they will get. If they strengthen their pace attack they can compete even better when they travel.
Bharat Arun | India bowling coach: They (pacers) hunt as a pack. They take a lot of pride in each other. That's the secret behind this pack. They have their processes set, work on the basics, that's what has given them success. We are an experienced bowling attack. The beauty of this attack is how quickly they adapt to different situations. There's a lot of dialogue amongst the bowlers and I thought they adapted so well to the conditions here. It's definitely going to be a good challenge (New Zealand tour) and looking forward to it.
Wriddhiman Saha: In the last 3-4 years, we have had an amazing pace attack, all 140+. We have been successful outside and at home. It has been wobbling and swinging, especially under lights. It's not that only spin is dominant now for India. I've never tried anything specifically for the conditions in terms of keeping, just tried to do the basic right. Bumrah is number one on the list - after than Shami, Umesh, Ishant in that order, but didn't really struggle much.
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