Ashwin, Iyer's unbeaten 71-run stand saves India from embarrassment

Ashwin and Iyer shared a match-winning stand

If it was not for Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin's eighth-wicket stand, Bangladesh could have bagged their maiden win victory against India in Test Match cricket. Mehidy Hasan Miraz's five-wicket haul went in vain as the visitors not only clinched the Dhaka Test but kept the WTC Final dream still alive. 

Coming into Day 4 on a chilly Christmas morning, the Indians were four down at just 45 runs on the board. Bangladesh bowlers continued their bowling the merry way, as the visitors were pushed on the back foot early in the morning. 

Captain Shakib Al Hasan was on-point his bowling and decisions on the field. The left-arm spin of the skipper provided the first breakthrough of the day in the form of Jaydev Unadkat, followed by two timely wickets taken by Mehidy Hasan. 

India were 74 for the loss of seven wickets, and six runs later, Ashwin could have been a goner if the catch would have gobbled at the short leg. However, that wasn't meant to happen for the Tigers. 

Iyer and Ashwin took calculative risks and pulled out of deep waters. The duo were brilliant to counter the sharp drift and dual bounce on the Dhaka pitch. Initially, they kept rotating the strike and notched timely boundaries as well. 

As the target was coming into reach, the pressure got onto the home bowlers as they started bowling loose deliveries on which the duo of Iyer and Ashwin took the full toll. Iyer was the first one who put the foot on the accelerator by slapping two boundaries in an over before Ashwin thumped the final nail in the coffin.

Brief Score: 

Bangladesh (1st Innings) - 227/10 (73.5)
Mominul Haque - 84, Mushfiqur Rahim - 26
Umesh Yadav - 4/25 (15), Ravi Ashwin - 4/74 (21.5)

India (1st Innings) -314/10 (86.3)
Rishabh Pant - 93, Shreyas Iyer - 87
Taijul Islam - 4/74 (25), Shakib Al Hasan - 4/79 (19.3)

Bangladesh (2nd Innings) - 231/10 (70.2)
Litton Das - 73, Zakir Hasan - 51
Axar Patel - 3/68 (19.2), Mohammed Siraj - 2/41 (11)

India (2nd Innings) - 145/7 (47)
Ravi Ashwin - 42*, Axar Patel - 34
Mehidy Hasan Miraz - 5/63 (19), Shakib Al Hasan - 2/50 (14)

Result: India won by three wickets.

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