DHAKA, (Reuters) – India pace bowler Ishant Sharma took four wickets to help reduce Bangladesh to 233 all out on the opening day of the second and final Test yesterday.

At the close, India were 69 without loss in reply with Virender Sehwag on 41 and Gautam Gambhir on 26.

Number eight batsman Mahmudullah smashed an unbeaten 96 to help Bangladesh recover from 127 for seven.

He was left strandedwhen off-spinner Harbhajan Singh ended Bangladesh’s resistance by bowling last batsman Rubel Hossain for four.

Rubel survived 25 balls as he attempted to help Mahmudullah record a maiden test century.

Mahmudullah struck 13 fours in his 156-ball innings and also received solid support from number 10 batsman Shafiul Islam (9), who shared 55 runs in a ninth-wicket stand before giving Rahul Dravid a catch at second slip off Ishant.

Ishant (4-66) and fellow seamer Zaheer Khan (3-62) had earlier dismantled Bangladesh’s batting line up after the hosts opted to bat first. Mohammad Ashraful was the only batsman to take the fight to India among the top order with 3

“The first few hours were really helpful for the bowlers. The wicket was really very damp. And I think it was really a good toss to lose for us,” said Ishant.
Mahmudullah said he had no regrets at missing out on his century.
“After Shakib got out, I tried to bat as long as possible and score as many runs as possible. I am not disappointed at all. Rather I am happy to contribute for my team,” he said.

India lead the two-match series 1-0 after a 113-run win in Chittagong last Thursday.

BANGLADESH first innings
T. Iqbal b Zaheer 0
I. Kayes c Dhoni b Ishant 0
Z. Siddique c Dhoni b Zaheer 7
M. Ashraful st Dhoni b Ojha 39
R. Hasan c Dravid b Ishant 4
S. Hasan c Dhoni b Zaheer 34
M. Rahim lbw b Ishant 30
Mahmudullah not out 96
S. Hossain st Dhoni b Ojha 8
S. Islam c Dravid b Ishant 9
R. Hossain b Harbhajan 4
Extras (lb-2) 2
Total (all out; 73.5 overs) 233
Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-4 3-13 4-44 5-51 6-106 7-127 8-155
9-213
Bowling: Zaheer 19-3-62-3, Ishant 18-3-66-4, Ojha 16-1-49-2,
Harbhajan 18.5-3-48-1, Yuvraj 2-0-6-0

INDIA first innings
G. Gambhir not out 26
V. Sehwag not out 41
Extras (b-1, nb-1) 2
Total (no wicket; 13 overs) 69
To bat: R. Dravid, S. Tendulkar, Y. Singh, M. Vijay, M.
Dhoni, H. Singh, Z. Khan, P. Ojha, I. Sharma
Bowling (to date): Shafiul 2-0-13-0, Shahadat 3-0-10-0,
Rubel 4-0-20-0 (nb-1), Shakib 3-0-15-0, Ashraful 1-0-10-0.