The Great Game Called Cricket...

Bangladesh's brave fightback on the third day couldn't inspire the middle order to put further pressure on the Indians on the fourth morning as Zaheer Khan ran through the line-up with 7 for 87. Zaheer at one stage had four wickets for four runs and when he cleaned up the tail, he took his first seven-for in a Test innings. Bangladesh managed to avoid an innings defeat and after lunch, India took just two balls to win the match and the series 2-0.

Full report to follow


Lunch Bangladesh 233 and 312 for 9 (Mushfiqur 10*, Rubel 0*) lead India 544 for 8 dec by 1 run


From a position of relative strength to utter disarray in the space of half an hour - that was the story of Bangladesh's morning in Mirpur. From 290 for 3, they lost six wickets for 14, and only a couple of hefty blows from Mushfiqur Rahim ensured the innings defeat would be avoided. Defeat, however, was all but inevitable, with the lead just one at lunch. Pragyan Ojha took the wickets of Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan, before Zaheer Khan, who spent much of the morning wearing a back-brace, returned to scalp three in an over.


There was no hint of the drama to come as Bangladesh made serene progress in the opening hour. Ashraful drove Zaheer through cover, but was largely an amused onlooker, as Shahadat Hossain, the nightwatchman, took to the attack with gusto. A pull for four off Ishant Sharma bolstered his confidence and though a subsequent top-edged heave over slips betrayed his tail-end roots, there was nothing fortuitous about a lovely straight six off Ojha or a copy-book cover-drive off Zaheer.


With Gautam Gambhir then conceding four overthrows, and Ojha clubbed for another four through midwicket, there would have been Indian supporters whose minds strayed to the prospect of a tricky fourth-innings chase. The sense of unease was compounded when Amit Mishra dropped Shahadat at deep midwicket after he'd given Harbhajan Singh the big heave-ho.


There were 51 runs scored before drinks and it was only when Shahadat tried to wallop Harbhajan over long-on again that the wheels came off. This time, Mishra held on to the catch, and the 68-run partnership was over. Ashraful, who had shown uncharacteristic patience all the while, followed in Shahadat's wake, undone by a beautiful Ojha delivery from round the wicket.

Shakib played the most bizarre of innings, striking the first ball he faced for a straight six, and then sweeping one straight to Gambhir at square leg. Resistance breached, MS Dhoni turned to his best bowler. Brace or no brace, Zaheer was too hot to handle. Raqibul Hasan shouldered arms to one that came in with the angle from round the wicket, while Mahmudullah was defeated by late movement and a magnificent catch from M Vijay, who took the ball an inch from the ground while diving to his left at second slip.


Shafiul Islam's stumps were splayed next ball, and it took some defiance from Mushfiqur to avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat. But with Zaheer taking his first six-wicket haul, the 2-0 series win was as good as assured.