Tigers punished to the tune of three tons

If the two-day practice game against India A that concluded yesterday is an indication of what is to follow, then Bangladesh are set for a thrashing by India in the one-off Test that starts at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in three days' time.

It might have ended in a draw but Bangladesh could well have ended as losers against the second-string Indian team if the game at the Gymkhana Ground stretched for another couple of days.

Resuming the day on 91 for one, India A scored an imposing 461 for eight in their allotted 90 overs -- 237 more runs than Bangladesh had managed in their first innings on the opening day. Bangladesh however fared slightly better in their second innings when they scored 73 for two in 15 overs with opener Tamim Iqbal hitting an unbeaten 42.

Soumya Sarkar, who is set to open the innings with Tamim in the one-off Test following the injury of regular opener Imrul Kayes, scored 25 in an opening stand of 71 and the two wickets that fell at the fag end had little significance apart from a first-ball duck for Mominul Haque.

The key one-down batsman actually had a forgettable practice game, scoring only five runs in the first innings.

Although the bounce had subsided on the second day, the way the second-string Indian team batted was a treat to watch. Three batsmen have scored centuries and the most telling was an unbeaten 103 by Vijay Shankar.

Coming in to bat at number eight with his side reduced to 287 for seven Vijay, who is actually a middle-order batsman with a first-class average of almost 50, showed the batting depth of India. He shared 114 runs for the eighth wicket with wicketkeeper Nitin Saini, who hit 66.

Earlier, opener Priyank Kirit Panchal (103) and exciting young batsman Shreyas Iyer (100) scored fluent centuries before allowing other teammates to have a crack against an unimpressive Bangladesh attack.

Iyer took only 91 deliveries to complete his century with 12 fours and four sixes. But even an aggressive Iyer did the simple thing -- played with a straight bat, used his feet against the spinners. It was actually the hallmark of the India A batting and this is something Bangladesh can take note of going into the Test match starting on Thursday.

For Bangladesh, pace bowler Subhashis Roy and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam evenly shared the six wickets that fell in the India A innings.

But it was a demoralising day for young off-spinner Mehedi Hasan, who bowled 16 overs and conceded 92 runs without any success.