Home Cricket Sachin and Ganguly react to R Ashwin equaling MS Dhoni's Test centuries on Day 1 of IND vs BAN Test

Sachin and Ganguly react to R Ashwin equaling MS Dhoni's Test centuries on Day 1 of IND vs BAN Test

India staged a stunning comeback on Day 1 of the opening Test match against Bangladesh at ...

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 18:19 PM

India staged a stunning comeback on Day 1 of the opening Test match against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. After the visiting pacers had the hosts struggling at 144 for six post-lunch, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, both local heroes, came to the rescue. The duo put on an unbeaten partnership of 195 runs, steering India to a strong position at 339 for six by Stumps. Ashwin, who just celebrated his 38th birthday, played a crucial role in guiding India towards a positive end to the day's play.

Under the overcast sky and the seam-friend Chennai condition, Hasan Mahmud removed Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli within the opening hour for just 12 runs after India were put to bat first. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant did look to rebuild but were taken down by Nahid Rana and Hasan, respectively, after their fifty-run stand. KL Rahul, too, was sent back after a short while, leaving India in a spot of bother.

However, the spin all-rounders Ashwin and Jadeja bailed India out of trouble. The right-hander played some glorious shots to get off the mark, and Jadeja, too, scored briskly as Bangladesh bowlers ran out of plans. Ashwin eventually reached his sixth Test century, equalling former India captain MS Dhoni's career tally, which was also his second at home and the fastest in his career, having reached the mark in 108 balls.

The knock also saw Ashwin emulate Sachin Tendulkar's feat of scoring back-to-back tons in Chepauk. Ashwin had notched up his maiden century at his home ground in the second Test match against England in 2021. Tendulkar, on the other hand, holds the record of scoring a hat-trick of tons in Chennai - 155* against Australia in 1998, 136 against Pakistan in 199 and 126 against the Aussies in 2001.

The stunning partnership and the century knock left India legends Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly in absolute awe.

A plethora of records of the Jadeja-Ashwin stand

The unbeaten 195-run stand between Ashwin and Jadeja is currently the highest partnership for seventh wicket or below for India against Bangladesh in Test cricket. The duo went past the previous best of 133 between Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan for the 10th wicket in Dhaka in 2004. This is also the duo's best partnership, surpassing their previous best of 130 against Sri Lanka in Mohali last March. Overall, Ashwin has been involved in four seven-wicket stands, only behind former India captain Dhoni (7).

Meanwhile, Ashwin climbed to the second spot in the list of most Test centuries at No. 8 or below. His current knock is his fourth such instance, taking his past Pakistan's Kamran Akmal and leaves him only behind New Zealand legend Daniel Vettori.

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