Agencies
NEW DELHI, June 14
As expected, the rain-truncated one-off Test between India and Bangladesh meandered to a dull draw on the fifth day at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah on Sunday.
Bangladesh managed 23/0 in their second innings after being asked to follow-on as openers Imrul Kayes (7) and Tamim Iqbal (16) saw them through. Such were the rain interruptions that out of the possible 450 overs only 184.1 were bowled.
Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin took five wickets and Harbhajan Singh scalped three as India bowled out Bangladesh for 256 runs in their first innings and enforced the follow-on.Ashwin registered his tenth five-wicket haul when Rohit Sharma took a good running one-handed catch at leg slip to dismiss Litton Das (44). Ashwin bowled a classical off-spinning delivery that bounced from outside off, Litton looked to flick it but got an inside edge onto the thigh pad, as the ball flew to the left of Sharma, who had to stretch out his left hand to take it.
Harbhajan Singh took his third wicket when he had Mohammad Shahid caught by Shikhar Dhawan at long-on as the batsman charged down the pitch and looked to hit it out of the stadium but it looped high up in the air for Dhawan to take a well-judged catch.
Bangladesh lost their last wicket when Jubair Hossain was run out for a duck after which Indian captain Virat Kohli informed the umpires that he is enforcing the follow-on.
Bangladesh were struggling at 219/7 in their first innings, trailing India by 243 runs at tea. India picked up four wickets in the first session of the day after Imrul Kayes and Shakib Al Hasan resumed the Bangladesh first innings at 111/3 after more than a three-hour delay.
Play could finally start at 1215 IST after rain relented. If there's no more rain, there will be 52 overs plus the mandatory one hour for the day.
Ashwin struck in the third over of the day when he had Shakib caught behind by Wriddhiman Saha. Ashwin drifted one slightly short and just outside off, Shakib went back for the cut, was beaten by the extra bounce, got a thick top-edge and Saha did the rest.
Kayes looked to steady the innings as Soumya Sarkar went for the shots as they brought up their 50-run stand off 84 balls.
Bowling from round the wicket, Harbhajan Singh foxed Kayes (72) in the air, as he saw the batsman advancing down the track, dropped the ball short to beat him with the dip and got it to spin and bounce sharply across the left-hander. Kayes wasn't anywhere near the pitch of the ball and was easily stumped by Saha.
With the dismissal of Kayes, Harbhajan overtook the great Wasim Akram (414) in the highest wicket-takers list in Test cricket.
Varun Aaron struck in the next over Sarkar (37) edged a delivery onto his stumps. Bowling from round the wicket, Aaron pitched up a delivery outside off that came back with the angle, Sarkar was rooted to his crease while aiming a flashy cut without any balance and ended up getting a bottom edge onto the leg-stump.
Ashwin then picked up his fourth wicket when he had Shuvagata Hom caught by Rohit Sharma at leg slip. Ashwin bowled slower through the air, Hom looked to keep it out from the crease without getting forward fully, the inside edge deflected off the pad to Sharma at leg slip at the stroke of tea.
