'Aakash Chopra Applauds Rohit Sharma's Exceptional Mindset in Kanpur Test Against Bangladesh'

New Delhi: Renowned former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has described India's triumph over Bangladesh in the second Test in Kanpur as a 'historic' moment. He pointed out that the match looked destined for a draw, with more than two-and-a-half days lost to rain and a wet outfield.

Men in Blue secured a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday, October 1, to win the series 2-0. They bundled out the visitors for 233 and 146 in first and second innings respectively. Indian batters did not waste any time and smashed 285 for nine in just 34.4 overs in their first innings and chased down a 95-run target in their second innings.

In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Chopra gave two reasons why the India-Bangladesh Test series will be remembered for a long time. First of all India continuing their 12-year winning streak at home, He chose the ‘historic’ victory in the Kanpur Test as the second.

“The second reason for which this series will be remembered is that history has been created. You can say what’s the big deal as you were supposed to beat Bangladesh even though they defeated Pakistan. You cannot beat India, no team has been able to do that, how will you?” Chopra said.

“Firstly, the playing style changed. We played on pitches where teams were bowling first after winning the toss and three fast bowlers were playing. It means you tried to challenge yourselves. If we talk about Kanpur, 35 overs on the first day, and no play on the second and third days. You said 100% draw,” the former India opener added.

Chopra highlighted that India created numerous records while registering a ‘milestone’

“You won the match when 40 overs were still left. One-and-a-half sessions’ play was left. Two-and-a-half days’ play was lost. If you win despite that, it’s historic because you made one record after another. When you win when there is no expectation of a win, it’s a milestone,” he said.

India registered the fastest team 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 in Test cricket’s history in their first innings. While Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Rohit Sharma gave India a flying start.

In the same video, Aakash shared that the Kanpur victory will define Rohit Sharma’s legacy as a Test skipper.

“This match and series will decide Rohit Sharma’s legacy as a Test captain because you couldn’t have won this series 2-0 without a change in the mindset and the captain’s confidence. You would have won the series but to win 2-0, you had to win in Kanpur and to breach the Kanpur fortress, Rohit Sharma’s mindset was wow,” he reasoned.