Mushy leads resistance

'What if...' These two words have been relentlessly used by Bangladesh's fans at the end of every day's play in the one-off Test between Bangladesh and India so far as they ponder innumerable missed opportunities.

What if Mehedi Hasan Miraz had successfully run out Murali Vijay? What if Mushfiqur Rahim had prodded an inch further and stumped Wriddhiman Saha? What if Tamim Iqbal did not have a mix-up yesterday and Bangladesh's top order played with a bit more responsibility?

Bangladesh were not bowled out yesterday and the day might have ended on a relatively better note than how it started, but the fact remains that Bangladesh's top order missed out on scoring on a flat deck.

They eventually finished on 322 for 6, but it was a total that they reached courtesy of their middle and lower-middle order batsmen. Shakib Al Hasan scored 82 while Mushfiqur and Miraz were unbeaten on 81 and 51 respectively.

In contrast, six Indian batsmen comfortably crossed the 50-run mark during their first innings and yet the visiting top order failed to make any mark whatsoever.

It was a combination of some good bowling from the hosts and some poor decisions made by the Tigers batsmen that led to their dreadful start.

The day began in the worst possible fashion when Mominul Haque and Tamim decided to go for an unnecessary double, which led to Tamim getting run out in the 17th over.

That wicket seemed to have affected Mominul a lot because he was partly to blame for the run-out as he had stopped while running. The left-hander never managed to take off from there and, with Umesh Yadav reversing the ball beautifully, the diminutive batsman was eventually trapped in front in the 25th over.

Yadav's morning burst was the reason Bangladesh lost three quick wickets. He was swinging the ball both ways and beating the batsmen with pace.

There were a number of occasions when his fierce deliveries ricocheted off the pads or took the outside edge for boundaries. The pressure he built helped Ishant Sharma attack from the other end and he got rid of Mahmudullah Riyad with one that swung on to his pads in the 35th over. Riyad reviewed the decision, but replays supported the umpire's call.

At 109 for 4, Bangladesh needed a partnership and the two senior-most campaigners got together to revive the visitors.

Shakib and Mushfiqur counterattacked after lunch and put together a century stand.

The wicket was a lot easier to bat on after the morning session and the batsmen, especially Shakib, attacked the bowlers at will. The batsmen never seemed threatened.

However, Shakib, while trying to keep up with his positive intent, went down the track against Ravichandran Ashwin, a bowler he was dispatching for boundaries quite comfortably until then, and looped to the mid-on fielder.

Shakib departed for 82 and that wicket brought Bangladesh back to square one and they had to rebuild.

Sabbir Rahman joined Mushfiqur, but failed to negotiate the turn. Ravindra Jadeja toyed with Sabbir for a few overs before trapping him in front two overs before tea.

After tea, Bangladesh's strategy changed. The boundaries dried up and both Mushfiqur and Mehedi tried to merely stay at the crease for as long as possible.

There was nothing on the wicket and that helped the duo to carry on their merry way. They put in an unbeaten 87-run stand and helped Bangladesh revive the innings once again.

Mehedi reached his first international half-century by cutting Ashwin behind point. It was a timely knock from a player who had an average below three prior to this Test.

Mushfiqur's resolute stance led him to an unbeaten 81.