India 176-6 against Bangladesh after Hasan takes four wickets

Bangladesh fast bowler Hasan Mahmud shocked India with four wickets to leave the hosts 176-6 at tea time on the first day of the first Test in Chennai on Thursday.

Hasan vindicated captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s decision to field first under overcast skies by taking three wickets early and another after lunch.

At the second break, Ravindra Jadeja was at bat with seven and Ravichandran Ashwin with 21.

The tourists, fresh from a 2-0 win in Pakistan, will be aiming for their first Test win against India.

Mahmud cleared the Indian top order, including captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – who both scored just six runs – to leave the hosts reeling at 34-3 in the first hour of play.

Opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 56, put on a 62-run stand along with fellow left-hander Rishabh Pant to inject some momentum into the Indian innings.

Hasan broke the stand in the third over after lunch when wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who is playing his first Test after a serious car accident in 2022, was left behind after a loose shot. He made 39 with six boundaries.

Jaiswal reached his fifty but was defeated by Bangladesh’s new pace sensation Nahid Rana. Spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz then beat KL Rahul for 16.

Hasan’s opening delivery of 3-14 put the hosts on the defensive straight away, starting with Rohit being caught at second slip.

Shubman Gill survived only eight deliveries before he was caught behind while attempting to hit the ball down the leg side and remained without a loss.

Kohli was greeted with loud cheers as he entered, but the noise soon died down when the former captain hit a long ball from Hasan outside the off-stump to wicket-keeper Litton Das.

It was a disappointing performance for Kohli after he missed his team’s 4-1 home win over England in March due to the birth of his second child.

India will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the World Test Championship rankings as they begin a new 10-match Test season.

The second and final test begins on September 27 in Kanpur.

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