With Chattogram win, India tune in to Test mode

India were worried about how players would adapt but stand-in KL Rahul is pleased with the effort in the 188-run win.

India took less than an hour to take four Bangladesh wickets and win the first Test in Chattogram on Sunday. Shakib Al Hasan strode out swinging his bat to score an entertaining 84 but having run out of specialist batters on Saturday, Bangladesh were never set up for a chase. Comprehensive it may look but this win was far from a stroll for India. Reduced to 48/3, India had to rely on Shreyas Iyer’s temperament and the lower order’s resolve to cross 400. By batting almost 114 overs in their second essay, Bangladesh showed India too could be stretched in the subcontinent. Had Bangladesh not been shot out for 150 in their first innings, this Test could have gone a different way.

Team India players (AP)

"That's Test cricket: you are never going to get a victory that's going to be easy," India's stand-in captain KL Rahul said after the victory. "We know that. We have played enough Test cricket to understand that there will be phases where the opposition also plays well. We need to respect that, and keep doing our job. I am very proud of that.

"Throughout the Test match our energy and intensity has been really high, and we have maintained it throughout the day. Throughout the last five days, we have shown great commitment towards the team. We haven't played Test cricket in a while, so there was some worry coming into the Test match about how the bodies would react and how we would be able to manage being in the park for so long, and maintain our focus and intensity. We did that really well, and that is pleasing."

Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the first wicket of the day after he drove Mohammed Siraj Umesh Yadav to backward point. That didn’t deter Shakib who slogged Axar Patel for sixes to raise his fifty before Kuldeep Yadav finally bowled him after the Bangladesh captain didn’t connect with a sweep. Kuldeep then got Ebadot Hossain to push him to Iyer at short leg before Patel bowled Taijul Islam. Patel and Kuldeep shared seven wickets in the innings with the latter returning his best-ever match haul of 8/113 to give a huge fillip to his fledgling career. “I am happy with the performance, both with bat and ball,” said Kuldeep, who was Man of the Match. “First innings, the pitch was quicker than the second innings. There was some pace in the first innings, but the second innings was very challenging. It was slower. So I was trying to work on my rhythm and bowl quicker.”

Kuldeep’s performance is timely because India need as many options in spin as they warm up for a more challenging home series against Australia in February. "At this level, players are naturally very motivated," said Rahul. "We are playing for our country; we have worked really hard since we were kids to get here. Yes, sometimes when you are in and out of the team and you don't get too many opportunities. It is natural to feel down and feel not confident enough. But as a group, as a team, we always try to make everyone feel comfortable in the group. The talk is always about what the team needs, and not about individuals.

"Whether you have played 50 Test matches or whether it is your first or second, it doesn't matter. We always try to see what the team needs and what we need to win a game of cricket. They play enough cricket. I know they may not have played enough international cricket, but back home, first-class cricket, IPL and India A - there is a lot of cricket happening. So everybody is playing enough cricket.

Not just Yadav, Shubman Gill too used this opportunity to score his first Test century, and barring the morning session on Day 4, the pace attack led by Umesh also got breakthroughs at regular intervals. That is always encouraging for a side without Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja in their ranks. "When they come into the Indian team, they come in with enough games behind them,” said Rahul. “You give them the platform, give them a bit of confidence. They have the quality, and that is why they are here. And they perform really well."