India A 120 for 0 (Jaiswal 63*, Easwaran 53*) lead bangladesh a 112 (Mosaddek 63, Saurabh 4-23, Saini 3-21) with eight runs
It was Saini who drew first blood early on when he bowled clean Mahmudul Hasan Joy, one of eight Test caps in Bangladesh’s A side, with a pitch that swung late and beat the perimeter. Mukesh then had top scorer Zakir Hasan in the just concluded NCL first-class competition trailing before bowling cleanly Mominul Haque, who misjudged a nip-backer from around the stumps.
Mominul’s dismissal could be some cause for concern in the Bangladesh camp as it was his first defeat against an overseas team since being dropped from the Test side in the West Indies earlier this year.
Saini wasn’t ready yet. He caught Najmul Hossain Shanto at third slip, before captain Mohammad Mithun carelessly chased a wide. At that time Bangladesh A was 26 for 5.
Mosaddek revived the innings with a half-century of courtesy six fours and three sixes, and after becoming the eighth batter to be dismissed, the hosts managed to add just four more to their run to fold to 112.
India A’s openers were quick in the thick of the action as they calmly posted half-centuries. They reached a total of 14 borders, while the likes of Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam battled for consistency. Mohammed Mithun, the captain, also tried four overs from both Nayeem Hasan and Mosaddek, but to no avail.