Dhaka - Opener Shikhar Dhawan made a strong comeback to remain on course for his third Test century and guided India to 107 for no loss before rain forced early lunch on the opening day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh on Wednesday.
On a perfect batting track at Fatullah's Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, left-handed Dhawan (74) and right-handed Murali Vijay (33) barely broke a sweat against the home team's limited bowling resources to score at a brisk rate and lay foundation for a big total.
At the either end of a thoroughly India-dominated session, Vijay survived a strong leg-before appeal even before he could open his account while Dhawan was dropped at short midwicket in the final over before the rain forced them off the field.
The left-right opening combination presented a contrasting batting approach with Vijay looking tentative while Dhawan, dropped from the Sydney test against Australia in January, was at his fluent best.
The 29-year-old southpaw peppered the boundaries on both the sides with some crisp drives and hit 12 fours in his 71-ball stay in the first session.
India also welcomed back 34-year-old Harbhajan Singh to international cricket with the off-spinner having last played for the country in a test match in March, 2013 against Australia.
Captain Virat Kohli had no hesitation in opting to bat first after winning the toss and went in with an extra bowler for the match.
Bangladesh, who impressed in the home series against Pakistan recently, handed a debut to Litton Das as captain Mushfiqur Rahim will not keep wickets due to a finger injury. – Reuters