Ashwin, Iyer star as India clinch 2-0 Test series victory against Bangladesh

India avoided a shock defeat in the second Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur as Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer guided the Men in Blue to victory with a priceless unbeaten 71-run stand for the eighth wicket. The pair came together with India reeling at 74 for seven in their chase of 145 but handled the spinners impeccably on a tricky pitch to give KL Rahul’s side a narrow three-wicket win.

The Men in Blue dominated the opening two days of the Test match against Bangladesh, but there were plenty of nerves on day four after the hosts fought back. India bowled out Bangladesh for 227 in the first innings and took an 87-run lead thanks to half-centuries from Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. However, the visitors let their grasp on the match slip on day three as the Bangladeshi tail wagged to set India a tricky fourth-innings run chase of 145.

To make matters worse, the Men in Blue lost four cheap wickets to start the chase, with KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli adding just 37 runs between them. The visitors headed into day four at 45 for four with the promoted Axar Patel and nightwatchman Jaydev Unadkat at the crease, and the wickets continued to tumble in the first hour.

Unadkat was pinned on his pads by Shakib al Hasan after hitting a six before Rishabh Pant perished for nine, the left-hander undone by a straighter one from Mehidy Hasan. Axar Patel looked comfortable at the crease against the left-arm spinners but was dismissed on 34 after the ball deflected off his pads onto the stumps, leaving India in a world of bother at 74 for seven.

Bangladesh should have had another wicket soon after, but Monimul Haque dropped Ashwin at short leg, giving the visitors a precious lifeline. That chance eventually went on to be a major turning point in the game, as Ashwin and Iyer rebuilt the Indian innings and stitched a match-saving partnership. The pair dealt in singles and twos early on before finding the boundary with more regularity as the ball grew softer. 

Iyer hit Shakib for two boundaries in a single over, while Ashwin finished things off with a 16-run Mehidy Hasan over as the pair added 71 runs to guide India to victory and maintain their unbeaten record against Bangladesh in red ball cricket. 

With this 2-0 series triumph, the Men in Blue also moved above South Africa into second place in the ICC World Test Championship table, giving themselves a great chance of qualifying for next year’s final alongside Australia at the Oval.