"If we had not made the mistakes we would have been in a better position" - Taijul Islam 

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam rued the mistakes by the team on Day 1 of the first Test against India on Wednesday, December 14, which prevented them from holding a firm grip over the game. The visitors scored 278-6 after 90 overs were bowled on the first day, but were placed in a vulnerable position at one stage.

Taijul was the pick of the bowlers on a slow and low track that assisted a bit of turn. He picked up the crucial wickets of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara to claim figures of 3-84.

While Bangladesh are arguably still not out of the contest, they could have been in a much better position had it not been for their poor performance on the field. Shreyas Iyer, who remains unbeaten on 82 was given several reprieves in the form of dropped catches. The same was the case with top-scorer Pujara.

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India made a sound comeback after a shaky start on Day 1 🏏

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India made a sound comeback after a shaky start on Day 1 🏏

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Nurul Hasan missed the opportunity to claim the catches behind the wicket, which would have signaled the early departure of the middle-order pair.

Opining that Bangladesh could have bowled India out inside the first day itself. Taijul said after the end of the day's play:

"I totally agree and you can say that (we could have bowled them out if we had taken those chances). If they had lost five to six wickets with 10 to 15 overs in our hand then it was possible to bowl them out."

He continued:

"Considering everything I don't think we are in a very bad position and in fact in a good position as this is only the first day of the Test match. If we had not made the mistakes we would have been in a better position."

After opting to bat first, India surprisingly found themselves at 48-3 midway through the very first session. A rebuilding job by Shreyas and Pujara rescued the visitors from peril.

Shakib Al Hasan and Co. managed to make a final impression with a double blow right at the fag end of the first day. Pujara and Axar Patel's wickets provide little respite for the hosts, who will be looking to dismantle the remaining wickets early on Day 2.

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"It doesn't need to be the highlight of my career" - Taijul Islam on claiming Virat Kohli's wicket

The left-arm spinner's second wicket of the day came in the form of Kohli, who was trapped lbw for just one.

Taijul's delivery caught the ace batter by surprise as he looked to play against the turn, but got it all wrong after being stuck at the crease.

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Pujara orchestrated a commanding knock but couldn’t complete his century 🏏

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Pujara orchestrated a commanding knock but couldn’t complete his century 🏏

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Claiming that he rates Pujara's wicket higher compared to the rest, Taijul said:

"I have picked up the wicket of Virat earlier in my career so doesn't need to be the highlight of my career."

Shedding light on Pujara's dismissal, he added:

"I think the line and length was good and perhaps he missed on quite a few occasions but I felt that the ball (which removed Pujara) turned quite sharply. "He felt it will be straight but as it turned it hit the stump."

The left-arm spinner breached Pujara's defense with the new ball in the 85th over. He missed out on an opportunity to score a hundred after falling 10 runs short of the landmark.

How many runs will Team India score in the first innings? Let us know what you think.

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