Veteran leg-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin defeated Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, continuing his merry journey with the red cherry. In the penultimate delivery of Ashwin’s seventh over in the ongoing Kanpur Test, the opposition skipper was taken out.
This was not your typical firing. The leg before wicket (lbw) represented something far more significant for Ashwin, than just the fact that Shanto, who looked impressive throughout his time in the middle, was removed in the third over of the day’s second session. It was his 420th Test wicket in Asia, putting him in second place on the list of players with the most wickets in that region.
After Anil Kumble’s record of 419, which he achieved in 82 games, was eclipsed, Ashwin is now just one spot away from taking the top slot. The experienced Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, who stands tall with 612 wickets under his belt, is the leader of the group.
It will be interesting to see if the first Test’s Player of the Match can surpass Nathan Lyon on the list of all-time wicket-takers in the longest format. With 523 points, Ashwin is now ranked eighth on the list and needs eight more to surpass Lyon. Lyon will have an opportunity to raise his tally when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins in November.
During the present Test match between India and Bangladesh, bad lighting plays spoilsport.
After just 35 overs of play on the opening day, the second and final Test of the series between India and Bangladesh at Kanpur was called off prematurely.
Zakir Hasan’s nightmare stint in the middle ended when Akash Deep struck in his opening over thanks to a superb catch made by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slip cordon. Not long after, Deep’s second victim was Shadman Islam. Mominul Haque and Shanto performed admirably together, and just when it appeared like they had both found their rhythm, Ashwin struck to put the visitors down three.
The umpires had determined that the visibility had dropped below what the light meter indicated was normal, and the rain plus a wet outfield caused the rest of the day to be canceled.
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There was also a significant downpour shortly after, so it remains to be seen what the weather gods have in store for Day 2.