IND A v BAN warm-up match Day 2 Review: Visitors on the backfoot despite a draw

India A completely outplayed the touring Bangladesh side with Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer and Vijay Shankar scoring centuries to power their team’s total to 461 before they declared after batting for 90 overs in the first innings. Bangladesh, in their 2nd innings, lost two wickets in the last overs of the game and finished with 73/2.

The overnight pair of Panchal and Iyer started off the day at brisk pace. They continued to bat on with ease against the Bangladesh bowlers who bowled with no intent. However, the visiting team tried to induce the pair into playing their shots and thus creating wicket-taking opportunity but that didn’t happen. Instead, they saw the ball going past the fence.

The visitors toiled in the first session as India A scored 152 runs in 30 overs without losing a wicket. Iyer entertained the crowd around the venue with some brilliant shots. He started off the day with 29 off 33 balls and reached his fifty in 56 balls and took 35 balls for his century. He brought up his century with a six down the ground off Mehedi Hasan, which was his 4th six along with 12 fours.

After the hundred retired to bring in Ishank Jaggi to the crease. Interestingly, Mehedi dropped what could have been an easy catch to give Iyer a life when he was on 86 off Taijul Islam’s bowling. The India A batsman tried to play towards the on the side but ended up edging to point where Mehedi grassed the chance.

Panchal on the other end, kept his glorious form continuing some brilliant strokes. He struck 11 fours in a chanceless century and brought up his century in 141 balls with a six off Shaful Islam over deep square leg region which even hurt a ground man present at that area. He scored 103 off 148 balls before retiring at Lunch break to give chance to the next batsman.

Rishabh Pant joined Jaggi soon after Lunch and played his shots. He struck a six off Taijul Islam and hit a couple of boundaries against Subashis Roy but was caught at fine-leg trying to pull one more to the fence. Subashis picked his 3rd wicket when Ishank Jaggi ended up giving a return catch for 23.

Ishan Kishan looked solid in his 22-ball stay but a rush of blood by coming down the track ensured his innings came to an end. Amidst a lot of hopes from the local crowd, Hardik Pandya’s stay lasted just 8 balls as he scored just 7 runs. With 287 on the board, Nitin Saini, the 2nd highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy season joined Vijay Shankar at the crease.

Both the batsmen made most of the chance by scoring at a very good pace. Saini kept scoring almost at a run-a-ball pace in the 2nd session. He brought up his fifty in 56 balls as India A went to Tea with 390 on the board out of which 147 runs came in the 2nd session in 28 overs for the loss of 4 wickets.

Post Tea it was Vijay Shankar’s show as he tore Taijul Islam apart in his final spell. Shankar brought up his half century off 58 balls but raised to his century in just 81 balls; taking just 23 balls for his 2nd fifty runs. He got to his century with a boundary off Taijul, his 14th of the innings which included 3 sixes down the ground and all of them against the left-arm spinner.

He scored more than half of his runs against Taijul. The Bangladeshi spinner went for 141 runs in his 28 overs and picked up 3 wickets including Nitin Saini’s who added 115 runs in just 139 balls with Vijay.

Trailing by 237 runs, Bangladesh started their 2nd innings in the last hour of the game. Tamim Iqbal opened with Soumya Sarkar and the pair added 71 runs in first 12 overs. Pandya and Jayant Yadav proved to be expensive in this innings as well with the later going for 36 runs in his 6 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav struck in his very first over by getting Sarkar stumped for 25 as the batsman completely missed the line. Mominul Haque was caught in slips on the very first ball before the game ended in a draw after two days of play. Tamim Iqbal cashed in the 2nd chance scoring an unbeaten 42 including a straight six to Jayant.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh: 224/8 decl & 73/2 (Tamim Iqbal 42*; Kuldeep Yadav 2/2)

India A: 461/8 decl (P Panchal 103, V Shankar 103*; S Roy 3/57)