The Indian team has opened the gates for an outright win in the rain-curtailed Kanpur Test thanks to the gutsy approach shown by the bowlers in the start of the day, bagging seven Bangladesh wickets for just 126 runs in 29.2 overs. The tourists were bowled out for 233 in the morning before the Indian batters wreaked havoc.
Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal took the attack against the opposition right from word go. India crossed 50 after three overs, making it the fastest 50 scored by a team in Test cricket.
In the second over of the Indian innings, Rohit Sharma welcomed Bangladesh pacer Khaled Ahmed with back-to-back sixes to kick off his innings with a blistering touch. He smashed a six and a four in the following overs before getting cleaned up by Bangladesh off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Rohit became only the fourth player in the history of Tests to start with successive sixes on the first two balls faced in an innings.
Who are the other three players?
Rohit Sharma emulated the feat of Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and pace bowler Umesh Yadav to hit two sixes on the first two balls of a Test innings.
Playing in his 195th Test match in Chennai during India vs Australia 1st Test match, Tendulkar smashed Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon as India were set a paltry target of 50 to chase down. With just 14 runs left to chase, Tendulkar walked out to bat. He didn’t take time much to settle and took Lyon to the cleaners, clearing the long-on twice.
In the third Test match between India and South Africa in Ranchi in the 2019 bilateral series, Umesh Yadav clobbered South African left-arm spinner George Linde for two sixes in the 112th over of the Indian innings.
West Indies lower-order batter Foffie Williams was the first player to commence his innings with two big hits, smashing England off-breaker Jim Laker in the 1948 Barbados Test in the second innings of the hosts.
Rohit is the first player to hit two sixes against a fast bowler to the start proceedings of a Test knock. The previous three instances happened against a spin bowler.