Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

On This Day (Nov. 24): Done & Dusted in Three Days - India Stuns Bangladesh to Win First Home Day-Night Test

While the iconic Eden Gardens turned pink for the game, the Bangladesh players turned red as they were handed an embarrassing defeat

Five years ago on this day at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, an Indian Test side led by Captain Virat Kohli played the country’s first-ever day-night Test game. The Eden Gardens had turned pink, given pink balls are used in day-night Test games, whereas on the other hand, the Bangladesh players had turned red after suffering an embarrassing defeat at the hands of India in merely three days.

Backfired first

Opting to bat first, the decision of Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque backfired as Ishant Sharma wreaked havoc on the Bangladesh batting line-up. In merely 30.3 overs, the entire Bangladesh line-up was bundled for 106 runs as Ishant Sharma picked five wickets by giving away only 22 runs in 12 overs at an economy of 1.83, including four maidens.

Only three Bangladesh batsmen could reach double-digit figures, i.e., Shadman Islam, who scored 29, whereas Litton Das and Nayeem Hasan added 24 and 19 runs, respectively.

Virat’s epic reply

In reply, Virat Kohli, without showing any mercy, went all guns blazing by hitting a 136 in 194 balls, which included 18 boundaries while managing a strike rate of 70.10. This was Kohli’s 27th century in the format that helped India post a respectable total of 374 runs before India declared their innings.

Apart from Virat, India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara scored 55 runs off 105 balls, whereas Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane also added 51 runs off 69 balls.

Better than the first but not enough

In the second innings, the Bangladesh top order once again faltered, but two middle-order batsmen showed some heart and tried to salvage the team’s reputation.

Mushfiqur Rahim put on a gallant show with his willow, scoring 74 runs in 96 balls at a strike rate of 77.08. His innings also included 13 fours. On the other hand, Mahmudullah scored 39 runs in 41 balls at a strike rate of 95.12, including seven fours.

However, their stands weren’t enough, as Bangladesh could only post 195 runs on the board in 41.1 overs. Once again, it was Ishant Sharma who picked four wickets, whereas Umesh Yadav scripted a fifer in 14.1 overs, giving away 53 runs at an economy of 3.74.

The game was over for Bangladesh in less than three days as India won the Test match by an innings and 46 runs. Ishant Sharma was awarded the Player of the Match award for his figures of 5/22 & 4/56. He was also awarded the Player of the Series because he picked a total of 12 wickets.

For the unversed souls, India has played only four day-night Test matches, winning three but losing one, i.e., the infamous Test match at Adelaide in which India was bundled for 36. While the nation is open to playing day-night Tests, former BCCI secretary Jay Shah made it clear that the country is unlikely to host any day-night Test in the future, given it hampers revenue generation.