Day 1 of the first IND vs BAN Test Match saw a lot of action as both sides dominated equal chunks of the battle. The Bangladeshis started the day with three quick strikes that reduced Team India to 48 for 3 before Shreyas Iyer and Cheteshwar Pujara staged a substantial fightback for the visitors.
The partnership between the duo, however, would not have been possible if not for Shreyas having the same amount of luck that 3-D Shankar had to make it to the 2019 ODI WC squad.
Iyer was dropped twice, first on the score of 39 by Nural Hasan, and once more when Ebadot fluffed a practice catch at mid-wicket when he was on 65. Regardless, the luckiest escape for the right-hand bat came when the bails refused to come off at day’s close.
Shreyas Iyer survives a certain clean bowled; leaves the fans and players bemused
Bangladesh were looking to break the Pujara-Iyer stand and hence took the second new ball as soon as it was made available.
The ball moved with Ebadot Hossain and Khaled pushing their bodies, and Bangladesh smelled blood. In the 84th over, the toil came to fruition as an Ebadot nip-backer breached Shreyas’ defense and struck timber.
The bails, however, despite the solid contact from the ball, hung onto the stumps as Lux Cozi came to the rescue of Shreyas Iyer once again. Notably, one of the bails (that wasn’t lighting up) had gotten replaced with a new one a couple of deliveries before the one that saw the 28-year-old survive.
What luck! Incredible Lux Cozi for Shreyas Iyer! The ball kisses the stumps but the bails don't fall. pic.twitter.com/WPfN8nrIAA
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) December 14, 2022
Bhai naseeb k ghode per sawar ho aaj to iyer bhaiya#shreyasiyer pic.twitter.com/OA1dl21wEi
— Adnan Ansari (@AdnanAn71861809) December 14, 2022
The players on the field as well as the fans were left bemused at the Iyer’s never-ending luck and one of them summed it up well in a Tweet: “Even God wants him (Shreyas) to bat”.
Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t have the same rub of the green as his fellow Team India batsman and was dismissed for 90 to a Taijul Islam ripper minutes before stumps, missing out on a hundred for the umpteenth time. For the unversed, Pujara hasn’t scored a test hundred in the last 4 years.
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The last ball of Day 1 saw Axar Patel fall prey to Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the sides ended the first 90 overs even stevens; the scoreboard reading 278 for 6 with Shreyas Iyer (82* off 169) still at the crease.