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Cricket PlayersKuldeep Yadav's epic response to reporter's 'can Bangladesh win the 1st Test?' question leaves entire room in splits
Kuldeep Yadav had picked a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Test and attended the press conference following the end of Day 3 in Chattogram.
India were in total command at the end of Day 3 of the Test against Bangladesh on Friday, having set a 513-run target for the hosts to win in Chattogram. On Day 3, India enjoyed an impressive outing with the bat after bowling Bangladesh out on 150, as Shubman Gill (110) and Cheteshwar Pujara (102*) smashed impressive centuries. Bangladesh ended the day at 42/0 but India will be aiming to run through the hosts' batting lineup on Day 4 before moving to Dhaka for the second and final Test of the series.
However, following the end of the day's play in Chattogram, Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav was asked whether Bangladesh can chase down the mammoth target across the remaining two days of the match. No team has chased down a target in excess of 500, or even 450 in Test history; West Indies currently hold the record for the highest successful run-chase in the longest format – 418/7 against Australia in 2003.
Kuldeep, who had a five-wicket haul in the first innings, had a rather straightforward reply to the question that drew laughter from the reporters present in the room.
“I personally don't want them to!” said Kuldeep, letting out a chuckle.
“It's cricket. If someone gets a 300, then probably! We will try to bowl them out as early as possible. That's our main goal for tomorrow,” the Indian chinaman spinner further said.
Kuldeep picked his third five-wicket haul in the longest format of the game as he registered figures of 5/40 in the first innings. After bowling out Bangladesh on 150, India declared their second innings on 258/2 with century knocks from Gill and Pujara; while the young opener smashed his maiden Test century, Pujara ended a 1443-day wait for his three-figure score.
India had earlier posted 404 in the first innings with Pujara top-scoring with 90 runs.
