IND vs Ban | Ishant's day at Eden but don't discount Saha, states Harsha Bhogle
BCCI
Harsha Bhogle claimed that although Ishant Sharma was the pick of the Indian bowlers with a five-wicket haul, he also felt that Wriddhiman Saha deserved equal praise for his keeping efforts. Indian pacers once again tormented the Bangladesh batsmen as they were bowled out for 106 in just 30 overs.
Day one of the historic pink-ball Test had India written all over it as they managed to bowl out Bangladesh for just 106 and have taken a 68-run lead losing just three wickets. The Indian pacers were right on the money again, tormenting the batsmen and this time it was Ishant Sharma who stood out by taking a five-wicket haul and was beautifully assisted by Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav. Umesh picked up three wickets while Shami was busy hitting the helmets of the batsmen and forcing Bangladesh to use the concussion substitute twice.
" I didn't think I would see a day where India's fast bowlers would be bowling and somebody would be backing away," Bhogle said in a chat show with Murali Karthik on Cricbuzz.
The pink-ball definitely has more lacquer in order to prevent it from being dirty to help the batsman sight the ball easily under artificial lights. This lacquer ks what Bhogle feels might be helping the ball get that extra zip off the pitch.
"According to me, the ball was cutting through faster, maybe because of the lacquer or less air resistance according to my theory. Virtually every Bangladesh batsman, even Mushfiqur Rahim, was late on the ball and the ball bursting through could be the reason behind it," Bhogle asserted.
Bhogle had loads of praise for keeper Wriddhiman Saha as he again proved why he is arguably the best wicket-keeper in the country right now. Saha was amazing behind the stumps and took an absolute stunner of a catch that impressed Bhogle.
"In Sri Lanka Saha was absolutely fantastic because the ball was spitting and turning but this was like keeping in England. He was diving to the left he was diving to the right but he always picked it up," he said.
Dew factor was one of the things that were talked about a lot before the start of the Test but Bhogle felt that there was not much due and Bangladesh bowlers could have made the most of it especially with the ball moving a lot more under the lights. But he feels that it is the lack of pace that went against the bowlers and they could not pick up early wickets.
"One good thing though that should have helped Bangladesh when Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara were batting was that there was not much due. We thought there would be more due but there was not much due. I just thought Bangladesh were 10-12 kmph slow so they were not able to create the same impact and after the 20-minute break the ball began to come on to the bat nicely," Bhogle added.
Bhogle also spoke about the new variation that Ishant Sharma has worked upon and that is the leg cutter. Ishant was always known to bring the ball into the right-hander and thus was relatively easier to play for the batsmen. But with the leg cutter, he always kept the batsmen guessing and Bhogle felt that the Bangladesh batsmen were unable to pick the ball.
"Lamboo Ji (Ishant) just keeps on picking wickets. Another five-wicket haul and batsmen do not seem to be picking his leg cutter. It's not good from the Bangladesh batsman and I do not think they would have watched the replays," Bhogle asserted.
It has been a quiet series for skipper Virat Kohli so far as he was dismissed for a duck in Indore. But Bhoglew felt that he was absolutely determined when he came out to bat and his drives showed his determination. he believes that this is Kohli's 100 to lose and hopes that India will pile on more runs.
" I thought his driving has always been excellent but the way he was driving today was just so good. I was commentating with Sunil Gavaskar and he just jumped off his seat and we all love the straight drive. I' ll be surprised if he does not go on and get that hundred," he claimed.
