It’s one day before a red-ball Test match and India’s captain and vice-captain were seen practicing with the pink ball for the day-night Test in Kolkata later in the month. Such is the confidence in the Indian camp at the moment in home Tests that they can afford to prepare for the Physics exam by learning Chemistry on the previous day. In home conditions, few teams are as dominant as India have been in recent times and Bangladesh’s task is compounded by the fact that they have a side that has names like Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal missing.
It’s just another day for India at the Holkar Stadium in Indore as they step out for just the second Test match at the venue. In the previous encounter here, against the Kiwis, Virat Kohli scored a double ton and Ajinkya Rahane scored a hundred to help India to a 321-run win.
Conditions, though, might have changed in this interim, much like the Indian Test side has. They have become a juggernaut under Virat Kohli and are unstoppable at home. The major question for India would be regarding the bowling combination they play at Indore. Will it be three pacers and two spinners or will they gamble on Kuldeep Yadav instead of one of their regular pacers?
Bangladesh, meanwhile, have major batting concerns and a new captain at the helm. Mominul Haque will have his task cut out as skipper particularly because his record is very average outside home. India, though, should count as a secondary home for Bangladesh and the tourists will hope that Mominul steps up for them.
Mushfiqur Rahim is the other lynchpin in the batting line-up. The middle-order batsman has given up keeping duties and should be in good comdot to don more responsibility in the middle with the bat. Like in the Delhi T20I, Rahim could be the one batsman that India fear given his record against the hosts.
In the last Test Bangladesh played, they fielded an all-spin attack, yet lost big ti Afghanistan at home, an embarrassing loss given their proud home record. With the kind of thrashing India gifted South Africa, Bangladesh will be lucky to escape with some reputation intact after this series.
Pitch and conditions:
The weather is clear for all five days at Indore. Temperatures are around the 30 degree celsius mark and we should have all five days of uninterrupted cricket, unless of course things are wrapped up quicker by either team. The pitch is expected to be slightly conducive to pace, thereby negating the one strength Bangladesh have in their arsenal.
Predicted XI:
India: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami
Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Mossadek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Al Amin Hossain