India are in a dominant position to register a huge win in the first Test match against Bangladesh after an impressive all-round show in Chennai on Day 3. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant smashed brilliant centuries and then Ravichandran Ashwin made an impact with bat to keep India on track for an easy win ahead of Day 4.
India declared their second innings on 287 for 4 to put a mammoth target of 515 for the travelling side. Bangladesh were off to an impressive start in their second innings but Ashwin picked three wickets in a row to stumble their innings to 158 for 4 before the bad light forced an end to Day 3's play at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
It was an impressive all-round performance from the hosts on Saturday after losing three wickets on Day 2. Both Gill and Pant were aggressive from the beginning on Day 3 as Bangladesh bowlers struggled to find any momentum against the Indian duo.
Pant scored his sixth Test hundred to make a successful return to red-ball cricket while Gill ended his poor run of form by scoring unbeaten 119 runs off 176 balls. KL Rahul also scored quick 22* runs as Rohit Sharma declared the innings 287 for 4 total in 64 overs.
Bangladesh were also impressive with the bat in the early stages of their second innings with Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam adding 62 runs for the opening wicket with a run rate of almost 4.00. Bangladesh seemed to have found some rhythm to fight back in a big chase but Indian bowlers made a sensational comeback.
Jasprit Bumrah gave India a breakthrough with Zakir's wicket in the 17th over and then Ravichandran Ashwin, who surprisingly went wicketless in the first innings, bagged three wickets to give India complete control of the match at the end of Day 3's play.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Shanto smashed a brilliant unbeaten fifty to keep the runs flowing for his team but faces a tough job to salvage a win from this position despite two more days remaining in the first Test.
