CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, 19 December 2004 — Saurav Ganguly smashed a robust 88 and Anil Kumble bagged two quick wickets yesterday to put Bangladesh in a near-impossible position in the second and final Test against India.
India posted a mammoth 540 in their first innings, with skipper Ganguly scoring a second successive half-century to boost his team’s chances of making a sweep of the series.
Bangladesh, who lost the opening Test by an innings and 140 runs, faltered after a steady start and had reached 54-3 at stumps on the second day. The hosts put on 48 for the opening wicket before leg-spinner Kumble removed opener Javed Omar and nightwatchman Mashrafe Mortaza in the space of three overs.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh accounted for Nafis Iqbal, who contributed 31. Minnows Bangladesh managed to test formidable India in the morning session, but it was still not enough to haul them back into the match. The hosts captured five wickets for 79 runs before being thwarted by Ganguly, who put the attack into perspective by cracking nine fours in his 25th Test half-century.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique took three wickets and paceman Mortaza two in the opening session as the visitors slipped from 334-2 to 413-7. Mortaza trapped Sachin Tendulkar leg-before with the first ball of the day. Tendulkar, looking for a world-record 35th Test century, hit six fours in his 55-ball 36.
The paceman struck again when he had Rahul Dravid (160) caught behind with one that bounced a little. Dravid, who on Friday became only the fourth batsman to hit a century against each Test-playing nation, added only 15 to his overnight score of 145. He hit 24 fours in his 304-ball knock. Venkatsai Laxman (nine) was out to a debatable return catch. The ball appeared to have touched the ground after Rafique held it, diving to his left. Wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik (11) and Irfan Pathan (four) also fell to Rafique before Ganguly made the most of a tiring attack. The Indian skipper, who hit 71 in the previous Test at Dhaka, began with a flurry of boundaries and went on to dominate the attack with fluent strokes on both sides of the wicket. He put on 53 for the eighth wicket with Kumble (23) and 75 for the next with Harbhajan before being caught on the boundary, Rafique’s fourth victim. Harbhajan also relished the Bangladeshi attack, smashing two sixes and seven fours in his 43-ball 47.
