Chief selector Ajit Agarkar (left), star batter Virat Kohli (centre) and head coach Gautam Gambhir share a light moment during a practice session, ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: The last time India hosted Bangladesh for a Test series five years ago, they showed the neighbours what an indomitable force they are at home. Both the games finished inside three days with India romping to innings victories in Indore and Kolkata.
India, despite going through a transition on the batting and pace bowling fronts over the last few years, have remained the unshakable force at home since that 2-0 triumph. England (twice), New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia have been swatted aside with ease with Rohit Sharma and Co winning 12 Tests and losing three.
It’s a no-brainer that India will once again be looking to unleash that superiority when the opening game of the two-Test series against Bangladesh, coming here for a third red-ball tour, kicks off at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium from Thursday.
India are packed with too much class and calibre in every department that Bangladesh will find it hard to overwhelm despite immense confidence flowing through their veins following a historic 2-0 away win over Pakistan recently.
In skipper and opener Rohit and veteran Virat Kohli, the No. 4 rock, India have two of the finest batters in world cricket. They’ve been the pillars of Indian cricket for more than a decade with Kohli being at the forefront of India’s dominance with his aggressive brand of leadership from January 2015 to January 2022.
Then they’ve got young guns Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill who are expected to carry the torch forward with the latter already tipped as the future Indian captain. Jaiswal has made a phenomenal start to his Test career, scoring 1028 runs in just 9 games. The 22-year-old was one of the stars in the 4-1 series win over England earlier this year where he hammered 712 runs at a stunning average of 89.00.
Gill, three years older than Jaiswal, started the England series on a poor note where questions were asked about his troubles in playing spin. But Gill responded to the critics in style, blasting two centuries and as many half-centuries to amass 452 runs, proving he’s just strong in playing pace but can adapt his game to spin.
India will also see the return of Rishabh Pant in the longer format which gives the batting an extra edge. Pant is one of the most feared batters in the world with the innate ability to tear apart any attack in any condition.
Then, and very significantly, comes a high quality bowling attack. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have spun a web around the best of batters, their alliance of artistry being the bedrock of many an Indian win. Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have shown they are not just supports acts, wrecking considerable havoc on their own.
Despite staring at an arduous challenge, Bangladesh are buzzing with hope. It’s not just the Pakistan triumph that has caused a change in the mindset. They have a reasonably solid batting line-up, have two superb spinners in former skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz with the cherry on the cake being the stunning arrival of young pacers Nahid Rana and Hasan Mahmud.
Apart from the personnel, they’ve also changed their approach towards the game. Earlier they would be driven by emotion, especially when playing ‘big brothers’ India or Pakistan, which would result in them making inexplicable mistakes in crunch moments. Now, they play with a lot more calmness which has aided their decision-making skills, evident in the second Test against Pakistan where they didn’t panic despite being reduced to 6/26.
It’s all of this resilience and fortitude Bangladesh need to bring to the table if they wish to create another upset of mammoth proportions but India, wary of the danger of complacency, will be eyeing nothing but a professional outing and extend their dominance.
Pitch talk
It’s typical red soil pitch at Chepauk that will be good for batting the first two days with the spinners set to play a big role on the last three days once it starts deteriorating. The wicket is also set to offer good bounce which means even the pacers could have an impact especially when the ball starts reversing.
Squads:
India (likely XI): Rohit Sharma (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav/ Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Jaker Ali, Litton Das (wk), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Momimul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed.