Big picture: Another stern test awaits Bangladesh
It was a show of India’s depth in both batting and bowling. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli managed only 34 runs between them across four innings, but India had three centurions and two half-centurions. When it came to bowling, their seamers shared eight wickets in Bangladesh’s first innings and the spinners nine during the second.
Things will not get easier for Bangladesh in Kanpur, where New Zealand’s tail had held on to secure a draw the last time a Test was played here. There is also some uncertainty about the pitch. The ground staff were preparing two surfaces and, as of noon on the eve of the match, it was not clear which one would be used.
Kanpur generally offers good Test-match pitches that help fast bowlers on the first morning before flattening out and assisting spinners on the last two days. However, the weather could be an issue this time, with rain forecast on the first three days. That could impact not just the pitch but also the toss decision and team compositions.
But all is not bleak for Bangladesh. In their second innings in Chennai, their openers gave them a solid start, followed by Najmul Hossain Shanto’s return to form with 82. In their first innings, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz all got starts. But to be competitive against this Indian team at home, you have to be at your best for much longer periods. Can Bangladesh do that?
Form guide
India WWWWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
Bangladesh LWWLL
In the spotlight: Shubman Gill and Shakib Al Hasan
Team news: Wait and watch?
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 KL Rahul, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Axar Patel, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Taskin Ahmed
Pitch and conditions: Slow and low bounce?
The red-soil pitch in Chennai had decent bounce for both seamers and spinners in the first Test. Kanpur will be different. The two pitches being considered for the match are black-soil surfaces. They are likely to be flatter, with lower bounce, and are expected to become slower as the Test progresses. All that could change if it rains as forecasted, and bad light could become a factor too towards the end of each day.
Stats and trivia: Jadeja double on the cards
Quotes
“We don’t particularly pattern bad pitches. But we try to make sure the conditions are tough enough so that the players are challenged. A lot of these guys have played for so many years. Only if they’re challenged are they going to get better. So sometimes the thought process is just to challenge them differently so that your game and you, organically and mentally, grow.”
India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on the benefits of playing on a variety of pitches
“Pitches don’t matter much against teams like England, Australia and India. They will obviously have weapons with which they can attack us. They have quality batsmen, fast bowlers and spinners. I don’t think the pitch will have any effect. We have to perform better than we played in Chennai.”
Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
