Second that, Shakib. Especially, when you play them at home. It does not matter to them. Even if a black-soiled pitch pumps up the opposition bowlers to reduce them to 144 for 6. Teams like India find their way back to the game and somehow manage to win it by a whopping 280 runs on the penultimate day. The little sneak peeks they drop are, most of the time, to hoodwink the opposition into thinking that they have cracked the code to dominate India at their home. Only for them to find out halfway through the game, that they have been flummoxed by the best Test team in home conditions of this generation.
Keeping that in mind, Bangladesh jumped above their weight to keep the game from turning into a one-sided affair. In the first innings, the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shook the visiting team awake from their dream. While in the second, the same task was assigned to Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. Unfortunately, neither Bangladesh’s late middle order nor their top order had the players who knew how to save the faces of their teammates. Bangladesh’s first-innings collapse took the life away from their bowling in the next innings, something they would want to learn to avoid against India again.
Team Overview:
India batted deep in the first Test match. This helped them, not only with the bat where Ashwin and Jadeja came to save the day, but also with the ball where both tweakers shared as many as eleven wickets between them across four innings. India will likely field three spinners in the second Test match. With Ashwin and Jadeja already fixed on their spots, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will fight for the third spot. Three spinners would mean one of the pacers would have to jog to the sidelines, most definitely Akash Deep. While the youngsters and the unexpected did well to avert the danger, Indian senior batters would want to not be as off-color as they were during the opening Test match.
Shakib Al-Hasan will play the second Test match, despite murder allegations, a finger niggle, and an incorrect head position leading to distorted vision. From what it seems, he will come out to play even if he is wrapped in cotton. But these would be of his last games in the longest format, having revealed his retirement plan earlier today. Bangladesh are also mulling over the possibility of playing a troika of spinners, with Taijul Islam likely to replace Nahid Rana. Batting is what stung them during the Chepauk Test but they would hope that their batting would not betray them in Kanpur.
Head-to-Head Matches:
Bangladesh has never beaten India in the 14 Test matches both teams have played against each other. Barring 2 Test games that ended in a draw, the remaining have been won by India.
Weather and Pitch Report:
The forecast tells us that the Kanpur Test will not be without rain spoiling the fun (or providing a respite). The Kanpur sky will remain covered with grey clouds and could end the day’s play earlier. Kanpure has a flatter surface which deteriorates fairly quickly as the match progresses. Batters can hope to get some scores on the board once the early dominance of pacers ends.
Where to Watch:
You can watch the first Test match between India and Bangladesh using the following:
India: Sports 18 Network, JioCineme App (Live Streaming)
Bangladesh: T Sports, Rabbithole (Live Streaming)
UK: Discovery+ (Live Streaming)
Pakistan: Tapmad
