Rohit Sharma’s muddled attempt to pull off a Virat Kohli in unmissable ‘Abracadabra’ act vs Bangladesh
India scripted a comfortable 280-run win against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday to take an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-Test series. Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored a record century in the first innings of the opening Test match, snared a six-wicket haul on Day 4, his fourth double of a hundred and a five-wicket haul in a same match, as India folded Bangladesh for just 234 runs in the final innings of the match.
515 was always an improbable target for Bangladesh. They had never won a Test match chasing a score of 400 runs or more, having secured only a solitary draw in 20 previous instances. Moreover, India never lost a Test match after setting a target of 500 runs or more, recording 22 wins in 56 such matches, while 28 ended in a draw.
Yet, Bangladesh, resuming their overnight score of 158 for four, put on a resilient show in the first hour, with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto negating the threat alongside the experienced Shakib Al Hasan.
Then, India captain Rohit Sharma looked to pull off a Virat Kohli as he swapped the bails, but in a rather muddled way. However, he wasn’t quite convinced with his act and jokingly cast a spell on the stumps after walking back to his fielding position at first slip. To his misfortune, it did not work on the next delivery as Mehidy Hasan Miraz smashed the next ball, from Ravindra Jadeja, for a boundary. However, India did get a wicket in the next over with Ashwin completing his 37th five-wicket haul, while the rest of the line-up crumbled in just the next 26 balls.
Virat Kohli and his ‘bail swap’ mind game
Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who also attempted it a few times in his career, once revealed that he had learned it from the Aussies, having watched senior off-spinner Nathan Lyon do it a few too many times. Although Kohli never revealed who he picked it up from, he first attempted the mind game in the 2024 tour of South Africa—the Centurion and Newlands Test.
In fact, in the Newlands match, Kohli’s act had resulted in India getting a wicket in the very same over. Although Aiden Markram was left annoyed when the former India captain pulled it off again when he came to take strike for the final ball on Day 1 of the match.
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