02 October,2024 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah
The Mumbai man's bold captaincy has been the driving force for India's 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh. After a poor show with the bat in the first Test (six and five) in Chennai, he led the hosts with a quickfire 23 off 11 balls, including two consecutive sixes off the first two balls he faced against Khaled Ahmed. That opened the doors for an otherwise improbable win that came about despite eight sessions from a possible nine being washed away.
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Another Mumbai lad, Jaiswal, was undoubtedly the best batter for India in this series, scoring three half-centuries in four innings. He showcased his range of strokes during a defiant knock of 56 in the first Test followed by aggressive half-centuries (72 off 51 and 51 off 45) in both innings of the second Test to deservingly win the Player of the Match award.
Having returned to Test cricket after nearly two years (634 days), following his accident, the wicketkeeper-batter impressed with both bat and gloves on turning tracks at both Chennai and Kanpur. Pant backed up a sturdy 39 (off 52) in the first innings at Chennai with a marauding century (109 off 128 balls) in the second essay. He ended the series with an impressive 161 runs.
Veteran all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was adjusted Player of the Series for his commanding performance with both bat and ball. He scored a brilliant, counter-attacking century (113 off 133) in the first innings on his home turf at Chennai and returned to take a six-wicket haul in the second innings to wrap up the match. Ashwin also picked up five crucial wickets at Kanpur, to finish at the joint-highest wicket-taker (11 wickets) of the series along pacer ace Jasprit Bumrah.
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The spearhead of the Indian bowling attack, kept probing the Bangladeshi batters, constantly troubling them with his accuracy and variations in length. His breakthroughs at crucial times - like the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim in the second innings of the Kanpur Test that set off Bangladesh's collapse - was one of the main reasons that India could dominate the visitors. Bumrah also excelled at mentoring newcomer Akash Deep, who took just five wickets in the series, but all of them being top-order batters.
