India vs Bangladesh, Day 3: Virat Kohli’s dropped catches, Tigers’ counter attack and more key moments

On the moving day of the second India vs Bangladesh Test match, the fans and the experts were really moved by the on-field action as India dominated the major part of the day and bundled the Tigers to set a target of 145, but the hosts made a stunning comeback, dismissing four Indian batters for less than 50 runs.

As the game moves to Day 4, India will still need 100 runs to win with six wickets in hand. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are yet to come to bat and that is the only positive left for India.

Bangladesh will smell blood – first Test match win over India in their history. India, on the other hand, will try to clot the blood flow – they stare at a steep situation with very little margin available to qualify for the World Test Championship Final.

Stumps on Day 3️⃣ of the second #BANvIND Test.#TeamIndia move to 45/4 & require 100 runs to win with @akshar2026 & @JUnadkat at the crease.

Scorecard – https://t.co/CrrjGfXPgL pic.twitter.com/d9w83R8qLt

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 24, 2022

While Bangladesh look a step ahead at the end of the day, there were several key moments throughout the third day that led to the situation. We take a look at several important and key moments from Day 3.

Virat Kohli’s dropped catches

When India is playing, Virat Kohli is always in the headlines for his batting or his on-field antics. However, for a change, the former Indian skipper caught the limelight on Day 3 after he dropped several catches off Indian spinners in the slips during the second innings of Bangladesh.

Kohli dropped at least four catches and gave a couple of lifelines to Nurul Hasan and Litton Das. Kohli’s reflexes reacted a bit late each time the batters edged the ball and that allowed batters to stay longer at the crease and add a few vital runs to their total.

A 145-run target seemed easier at the end of the Tigers’ innings, but with India losing four wickets at the end of the day’s play the match is wide open. Kohli grabbing a few of those catches would surely have reduced the target.

Virat Kohli dropped 4 catches and claimed one that he barely picked after one bounce – all at slips. Strange that no one in the commentary box chose to speak about it at length or question KL Rahul’s inability to replace him with someone else. #INDvsBAN

— Rahul Rawat (@rawatrahul9) December 24, 2022

Litton Das plays anchor

Litton Das has taken up his role quite seriously and has grown through the ranks in absence of some of the senior Bangladesh batters.

While he got starts in the first three innings, he was not able to convert them big and was dismissed around 20s. However, he made sure to stick for a bit longer in the second innings and lead his team to a total worth playing for in the fourth innings.

Das scored 73 runs from 98 deliveries including seven boundaries. He was quite defensive at the beginning but dropped his guard and counter-attacked against the Indian bowlers as wickets kept falling at the other end.

Bangladesh’s lower order counter-attack

Bangladesh lower order was excellent with the bat and gave India a taste of the manner in which they have been performing in recent times.

Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed both went on score 31 runs to lift their side out of the puddle. The fact that Das was the eighth wicket to fall also helped the tail to have a top-order batter to accompany and play fearlessly.

Bangladesh added 118 runs for the last four wickets and stretched their lead to 144 before eventually falling out.

India’s top-order collapse

Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been a nemesis for India in this tour to Bangladesh and once again ripped through the Indian top order bagging three wickets of Shubman Gill (7), Cheteshwar Pujara (6), and Virat Kohli (1).

While Pujara and Gill were stumped, Kohli was made to edge a short delivery while defending that was sharply caught at forward short leg by Mominul Haque.

India were left tattering at 45/4 at the end of the day’s play with Axar Patel proving to be a ray of hope amidst a tunnel of darkness for the visitors.

India stare into the eyes of defeat and the fact that they are hanging by a thin rope for the World Test Championship final will add pressure on them as they come out to bat on Day 4.

The match will end tomorrow, but the direction in which it goes can create history.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.