Rohit Sharma Pranks Shubman Gill on Camera as Virat Kohli Catches the Moment; Gautam Gambhir’s Reaction Steals the Show

On Friday in Chennai, during the first Test match against Bangladesh, India’s cricket team had big smiles. By the end of the day their second turn at bat they had reached 81/3 – an overall lead of 308 runs. R. Ashwin batted superbly again making 113 runs from 133 balls: his innings included 11 boundaries and a couple of maximums. But there were contrasting fortunes for R. Jadeja who yesterday scored 86: today he was out without troubling the scorers.

India made 376 runs in their first innings and Bangladesh struggled to reach 149, largely because of Jasprit Bumrah’s impressive four-wicket haul. In India’s second innings both openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) and Rohit Sharma (5), fell cheaply as did Virat Kohli for just 17 from 37 balls. But at the close on day two Shubman Gill (33*) and Rishabh Pant (12*) were together with the lead being extended and looking to Day 3.

There was a lighter moment during the match when television cameras captured Sharma playing a prank on Gill while sitting behind head coach Gautam Gambhir — tapping his teammate on the back of the head. It was met with laughter all around, especially when Kohli pointed out the incident had been filmed.A total of 17 wickets fell throughout play in Dhaka with Bangladesh’s batting lineup crumbling whenever quick scalps were required by Indian bowlers.

Although Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan did manage a half-century stand together, their downfall following tactical field alterations by Jadeja left those coming lower down with too much to do. Jadeja referred to the pitch at MA Chidambaram Stadium as being “pretty good” for batting after the day’s play. However, he also observed that there was some help for the fast bowlers.

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“It’s pretty good for batting, but there’s still something in the wicket for the fast bowlers. Odd balls were seaming and swinging, so it’s not that easy for batters. If fast bowlers bend their backs, they can extract something from the wicket,” Jadeja said.