Rohit Sharma's ambitious attempt to emulate Virat Kohli in a bewitching 'Abracadabra' act against Bangladesh

Achieving a target of 515 runs was seen as an unrealistic goal for Bangladesh. Not only had they never won a Test match chasing a score of 400 runs or more, but they had only managed to secure a solitary draw in 20 previous instances. On the other hand, India had a strong track record of never losing a Test match after setting a target of 500 runs or more, with 22 wins in 56 such matches and 28 ending in a draw.

Yet, Bangladesh, resuming their overnight score of 158 for four, put on a resilient show in the first hour, with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto negating the threat alongside the experienced Shakib Al Hasan.

Then, India captain Rohit Sharma looked to pull off a Virat Kohli as he swapped the bails, but in a rather muddled way. However, he wasn't quite convinced with his act and jokingly cast a spell on the stumps after walking back to his fielding position at first slip. To his misfortune, it did not work on the next delivery as Mehidy Hasan Miraz smashed the next ball, from Ravindra Jadeja, for a boundary. However, India did get a wicket in the next over with Ashwin completing his 37th five-wicket haul, while the rest of the line-up crumbled in just the next 26 balls.

Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who also attempted it a few times in his career, once revealed that he had learned it from the Aussies, having watched senior off-spinner Nathan Lyon do it a few too many times. Although Kohli never revealed who he picked it up from, he first attempted the mind game in the 2024 tour of South Africa—the Centurion and Newlands Test.

In fact, in the Newlands match, Kohli's act had resulted in India getting a wicket in the very same over. Although Aiden Markram was left annoyed when the former India captain pulled it off again when he came to take strike for the final ball on Day 1 of the match.