By Qaiser Mohammad Ali
IANS
Chittagong : The first India-Bangladesh Test ended in a predictable and tame draw after over two days of playing time was lost to rains and ground conditions in the five-day match.
Rain and poor visibility ruled the roost in this poorly scheduled series. A total of 15 hours and eight minutes were lost. Eventually, the two captains agreed to call off play after 28 of the 43 overs that were scheduled to be bowled in Bangladesh's second innings at the Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium.
India captain Rahul Dravid had set Bangladesh a difficult target of 250 runs in 43 overs at a rate of 5.81 runs per over. As expected, the home side did not attempt to chase the target and when play ended they had made 104 for two wickets in 28 overs.
Javed Omar remained unbeaten on 52 (82 balls, 8x4s, 1×6) and Rajin Saleh on seven.
It was Bangladesh's only fifth draw in 45 Test matches since their debut in 2000. They have won only one match so far.
India and Bangladesh have now played four matches and this was the first drawn encounter between them. India have won the rest.
Pacer Mashrafe Mortaza was adjudged the Man of the Match for his all-round performance. He bagged five wickets and scored a vital knock of 79 that prevented a follow-on Monday.
India, which won the toss, had scored 387 for eight declared and 100 for six declared while Bangladesh had scored 238 in their first innings.
In their second innings, Bangladesh lost Shahriar Nafees quickly when the left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh induced an edge from the struggling batsman for wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take the catch.
Captain Habibul Bashar (37, 49 balls, 6x4s) was edgy initially, but after a few edges and nudges he hung on to the crease.
Omar, the other opener, looked in fine touch and he scored brisk runs. He mostly got his runs through boundaries, essentially on the leg side.
He was lucky also as off-spinner Ramesh Powar put down a return catch of his own bowling when on 32 and Bangladesh on 62 for one.
Bashar also survived a scare when he was dropped by Rudra Pratap Singh at mid-wicket off Powar. He was at 31 then in the team total of 75 or one.
But after adding six more to his score Bashar succumbed to the same bowler-catcher combination. Rudra Pratap Singh took the catch almost at the same place where he had dropped him earlier.
Omar carried on and duly completed his seventh half-century in his 36th match.
Earlier, India started the day at 44 for two, with Sachin Tendulkar batting on 24 and Dinesh Karthik on 15 and the team enjoying an overall lead of 193.
India batted for 10 overs in which they scored 56 runs after play started under the threat of rains.
Karthik (22, 43 balls, 2x4s) was the first to be dismissed as he tried to pull pacer Mortaza to square leg, but only managed to scoop the ball to Nafees to take an easy catch. The third-wicket partnership between him and Tendulkar was worth 54 runs.
Tendulkar was also looking for some quick runs, and he got out trying to sweep left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique. The ball took an inside edge of his bat on way to the stumps. He scored 31 (50 balls, 2x4s).
Ganguly (13) and Powar (6) were also out soon after. When Dravid declared the innings, two hours and 20 minutes of scheduled play was left, but subject to clear weather.
During the match the ground staff did a marvellous work. They brought on and removed the pitch covers many times. They also did a wonderful job of drying up the outfield that was often affected by the persistent rains.
SCOREBOARD
Day 5, First Test, India vs. Bangladesh, Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium, Chittagong
India (1st innings): 387 for eight wkts declared
Bangladesh (1st innings): 238
India (2nd innings, overnight 44/2):
Wasim Jaffer c Bashar b Hossain 0
Dinesh Karthik c Nafees b Mortaza 22
Rahul Dravid c Saleh b Hossain 2
Sachin Tendulkar b Rafique 31
Sourav Ganguly c Nafees b Rafique 13
Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 17
Ramesh Powar st Mashud b Rafique 6
Zaheer Khan not out 2
Extras (leg bye 1, wides 2, no balls 4) 7
Total: (for six wickets declared in 24 overs) 100
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Jaffer, 0.3 overs), 2-6 (Dravid, 4.2), 3-60 (Karthik, 16.5), 4-64 (Tendulkar, 17.4), 5-78 (Ganguly, 21.2), 6-93 (Powar, 23.1)
Bowling:
Shahadat Hossain 7 3 30 2 (1w)
Mashrafe Mortaza 8 1 36 1 (3nb, 1w)
Mohammad Rafique 8 0 27 3
Enamul Haque (junior) 1 0 6 0 (1nb)
Bangladesh (2nd innings):
Javed Omar not out 52
Shahriar Nafees c Dhoni b R.P. Singh 1
Habibul Bashar c R.P. Singh b Powar 37
Rajin Saleh not out 7
Extras: (lb 6, nb 1) 7
Total: (for two wickets in 28 overs) 104
Fall of wickets: 1/12 (Nafees, 3.1 overs), 2/82 (Bashar, 20.2)
Bowling:
Zaheer Khan 7 0 24 0
Rudra Pratap Singh 6 0 29 1
Vikram Raj Vir Singh 5 1 22 0 (1nb)
Ramesh Powar 7 2 16 1
Sachin Tendulkar 3 0 7 0
Result: Draw
Man of the Match: Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh)
Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Billy Doctrove (West Indies)
TV umpire: Enamul Hoque Moni (Bangladesh)
Reserve umpire: Jahangir Alam (Bangladesh)
Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka)