Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer held their nerves on a spin-friendly track to prevent Bangladesh from pulling off a Christmas miracle and register their first win against India. The unbeaten 71-run eighth-wicket partnership ensured India win the second Test in the first session of Day 4 by three wickets and win the series 2-0 to retain their second spot on World Test Championship (WTC) 2022-23 table. With the latest triumph against Bangladesh, Team India's 2022 season came to an end on a rather positive note.
After losing three wickets for 29 runs in the first session, India needed a partnership to settle the nerves. Ashwin got an early reprieve as he got dropped by Mominul Haque at short leg. Shreyas hit a few boundaries to put pressure on spinners. Later on, Ashwin started taking chances with aerial shots and cleared the fence once as well.
Bangladesh bowlers could not get the breakthrough as the unbeaten 71-run eighth-wicket partnership between Iyer and Ashwin saw India home. Ashwin remained not out for 42 off 62 deliveries including for fours and one six. On the other end, Iyer scored 29 runs from 46 deliveries including four fours.
After hitting the winning runs, Ashwin celebrated on the field by throwing his arm in the air in sheer delight while KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and others enjoyed the victory in the dressing room.
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With the victory, India also consolidated their position on the WTC standings and are now perfectly poised to qualify for the final. With a win percentage of 58.93 and India are stationed at the number two spot in the WTC standings. During the 2021-23 cycle, India have won eight Tests and lost four games while having drawn two contests.
