1st Test, Day 5: Had to work really hard for this win, says Rahul after 188-run victory over Bangladesh

Chattogram: After getting his first victory as a Test skipper through India’s 188-run win over Bangladesh in the first Test at Chattogram, KL Rahul admitted that the visitors’ were made to work really hard for the result to come in their favour.

After giving Bangladesh a mammoth target of 513, India were left frustrated as Najmul Hossain Shanto (67) and debutant Zakir Hasan (100) made a 124-run opening partnership, including being wicketless in the first session on day four. But post that, India bounced back to wrap up the victory in the first 50 minutes of day five.

“We’ve been here for a while. The one-day series, it didn’t go as we wanted. Hard-fought Test match and we had to really work hard for this win. Really happy we did that.”

“It did flatten out, didn’t worry us. Looked like the batters were batting comfortably. Getting runs was hard for the first three days. The way their openers batted, we had to work hard. Our intensity was really high. We know no victory comes high,” said Rahul in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The win also means that India have climbed to third place in the World Test Championship standings. The valuable 12 points courtesy of the victory mean India now have 55.77 win-percentage, going past Sri Lanka and are only behind table-toppers Australia and second-placed South Africa.

Rahul was pleased with the batting performances of Shreyas Iyer and Cheteshwar Pujara, who notched up fifties in the first innings, along with Rishabh Pant’s 46. Pujara would go on to score a century in the second innings, alongside opener Shubman Gill.

“We batted well in the first innings as well. It was a job well done by Shreyas and Puji, even Pant’s counter-attack. Really happy for them (Gill and Pujara), they utilised the opportunity. I am not going to worry about what we could have done better.”

With the ball, Axar and Kuldeep were lethal along with Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav chipping in with crucial scalps too. “Very pleased with the way we bowled. The pitch wasn’t really assisting the bowlers, but they found something. Umesh bowled a couple of great spells and brought us back into the game. We’ve built this attack over the years. They are showing what quality they have,” concluded Rahul.

–IANS