India beat Bangladesh by 188 runs which made sure their road to WTC final in England just got a little easier. After this win, India have now moved to third spot in the ICC WTC tally which means they will now have to win five more Tests to seal the deal. Australia are the table topper with 75 percentage points, while South Africa are second with 60 percentage points.
Earlier, India beat Bangladesh by 188 runs to take 1-0 lead in two-match Test series. Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav registered his career-best match figures as India quickly wrapped up Bangladesh’s second innings for a comprehensive 188-run win in the opening Test, here Sunday.
Needing four wickets to pocket the win, India finished the job in 11.2 overs, bowling the hosts out for 324 after the hosts began at overnight score of 276 for six.
Furthermore, India will now have to win five more Test matches(4 against Australia and 1 against Bangladesh) to seal the deal as far as the WTC final is concerned. India will now take on the same opponents on December 21 in Dhaka after which they will be up against Australia in the four match Test series at home. A loss for India would mean they are out contention.
The manner in which they beat Bangladesh, they might wrap up the series 2-0. But beating Australia will be difficult when they come calling earlier next year. Australia are currently playing South Africa and a series win for either teams, who are above India, will only help widen the gap with the third placed Indian team.
In 2021, India qualified for the WTC Final and went onto take New Zealand at Edgbaston where they lost the match by 7 wickets.
Coming back to the match, Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep scalped two of the remaining four batters while Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel took one wicket each.
Kuldeep, who cherished an impressive five-wicket haul in the first innings, added three more wickets in the second Bangladesh innings to finish with match figures of 8 for 113.
“I love bowling with Kookaburra balls, it gives me better grip and control, compared to the SG ball,” said Kuldeep after the win.
“If I were not playing cricket, it would have been very challenging but I have played a lot of white-ball matches. I have played IPL and with red ball India A matched, so my rhythm was set.
“I could bowl with aggressive approach and in this rhythm, you need to make extra effort and it takes a toll on body,” he said.
“I like playing all formats of cricket for India, nothing matches that pride. When I don’t play I keep training so that the confidence remains intact in matched but I stay relaxed,” he added.
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