IND vs BAN | Winners and losers from Kolkata Test ft. Sourav Ganguly, Mustafizur Rahman and Indian fans
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Another innings defeat imposed on the opponents, yet another series win at home and the perfect ending to a historic game for India. Yes, the home team did wear the victory cap. But here, at SportsCafe, we serve a unique platter of winners and losers tempting you, sitting at the table, to devour.
Winners
Sourav Ganguly - More than a decade since his retirement, the âPrince of Kolkataâ is as popular as ever. And why not, heâs the BCCI President now. Moreover, it was under his reign that India played their maiden Day-Night Test. Gangulyâs Kolkata turned pink in celebration of the historic game in Indian cricket. While it was Virat Kohliâs idea to have Test centres in India to promote the longest format, Ganguly showed how itâs done- his first major accomplishment as the head of Indian cricket. The success of it gets highlighted by the fact that the tickets to all four days were sold out, something that only happens in limited over cricket in India.
Ajinkya Rahane - Dial three months back, Kohliâs deputy had a terrible form in Tests and his return to the shorter formats seemed highly unlikely. Endless criticism indicated that Rahane was still in the Test team because of his reputation. But ever since the tour of the Caribbean, Rahane has been in the process of cementing his position and to silence his critics for a long time. In the past 10 innings, Rahane has scored 624 runs, which includes two hundreds, averaging 78. This form was further substantiated by his 69-ball 51, which he scored while forming a steady partnership with Kohli after India had a rocky start. Now itâs fair to say that the vice-captain can without the pressure of getting dropped.Â
Indian selectors - Jasprit Bumrah had produced a brilliant show against West Indies earlier this year after which the Indian management decided to give their ace pacer a considerable amount of rest throughout the home season. As a result, Umesh Yadav was selected overlooking Bhuvneshwar Kumar and other options. The selectors were trolled by fans for the same reason. But a couple of home series hence, Umesh has impressed massively against South Africa and Bangladesh.
Losers
Bangladesh Team Management- To start with, the visitors were as clueless about with to do with a pink ball as they were in Indore. But the defining factor here is that losing to a stronger side wasnât the biggest of their concerns. With Liton Das and Nayeem Hasan getting hit on the head and suffering concussions, the replacements for them that were offered by the management shows how weak their bench strength is and thatâs an effect of lack of proper planning. Bangladeshâs highest scorer in the game, Mushfiqur Rahim(74) was also hit on the helmet on Day 2, but they survived another scare as he showed no signs of concussion. If all they could manage was a Mehidy Hasan for Liton Das, who wouldâve been the backup for Rahim? This question alone highlights where the management was lacking.
Mustafizur Rahman- Not too far from the preceding argument, hereâs another loser who rose to fame and faded away way too soon. There was a time when Bangladeshi fans used to worship the pacerâs photo like a deity and now he wasnât even considered for selection. There was a time, not too long ago, his off-cutters and the variations were sharp enough to bamboozle the batsmen. The selectors chose to move on with inexperienced bowlers like Ebadat Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain ahead of Rahman, who just carried drinks throughout the series. Anyhow, it did no good for Bangladesh and their current quality of bowling is a mockery at Rahman, who was considered even worse according to his national selectors.
Indian fans- There can be two different perspectives for this point. One might argue that fans were but the real winners here as they got to witness a historic game, but I donât buy it. Call me a pessimist, but I consider myself a realist when I consider the fans to be one of the biggest losers here. Sure it was the maiden Day-Night Test match for both the teams but the contest never really looked like Bangladesh was in it. Think about the real Test cricket fans who wouldâve wanted the match to go on till the fifth day. Well, itâs only possible if India plays better opponents at home. For all the hype that was made, all the tickets(over 1 lakh) that were sold, this was but a mediocre game.
