Having dominated day one by some distance, India will look to continue the run-fest on day two against Bangladesh in the lone Test match.
Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay were just too good with the bat on a flat pitch, with the Bangladesh bowlers able to do absolutely nothing to trouble the two India openers.
The fact that India could score 239 runs without the loss of a wicket, despite only 56 overs being bowled on the day, shows just how easy batting was made to look by Dhawan and Vijay on Wednesday.
For Thursday, the plan will be the same -- score runs, score them quickly and try and put as big a total as possible on the board to put the Bangladesh batsmen under pressure when they come in to bat.
Winning the toss was the best thing that Virat Kohli could have hoped for, but even the skipper would have seen that smile increase further as Dhawan and Vijay made the Bangladesh bowling look mediocre.
Yes, the pitch was flat as a pancake, with there being no pace and hardly any spin, but it would have been easy for Dhawan and Vijay to take the wicket for granted and play loose strokes. However, that was not the case on day one, even if there was one life handed out to Dhawan, and India will want day two also to go the same way.
The main threat to the Test match – in that if there be a result or not – remains the weather, with clouds hanging over the Khan Saheb Osman Ali stadium for pretty much the entire day. Rain is predicted for the next four days as well, and it is difficult to imagine the Test match going on without further interruptions – the only question will be how much time these interruptions will take away from the Test.
Therefore, it will be crucial for India to make the most of their time at the crease, score as many runs as possible as quickly as possible in order to put Bangladesh into bat and pile on the bowling pressure with their five bowlers.
Dhawan was smooth and elegant at one end with Vijay holding the other end up, and the initial plan will again be for Dhawan to remain the aggressor. The left-hander is unbeaten on 150, and all the odds will be in favour of the left-hander completing his first double hundred of his Test career.
The manner in which he played would have also pleased the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, all of whom will be itching to get in the middle and score a few runs as well.
Bangladesh need to bowl a lot better on day one, pick up an early wicket in the morning and hope that triggers a collapse. Because if they allow the India openers to run away with the game like they did on the opening day of the Test match, then chances of forcing a positive result will vanish pretty quickly, if it hasn't already that is.
Where to Watch Live
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Day 2 of the Bangladesh vs India Test Match is set to begin at 10 pm local time (9.30 am IST, 5 am BST, 12 am ET). Star Sports1 and Star Sports3 will be the channels that will show the match live in India and Bangladesh, with viewers in Bangladesh also able to watch the game on GTV. Audience from the sub-continent can also watch Day 2 of the Test match via online live streaming on Starsports.com and Hotstar.
Audience watching India vs Bangladesh in the US can catch the action on Willow TV, while Day 2 can also be live streamed on Willow TV Online.
Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can go to the OSN Sports Cricket channel to watch the match Live, while the live stream option is on OSN Play.
