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WTC points at stake as India take guard in Chattogram
Bangladesh have never won against India and the visitors still have the edge in the first Test despite missing Rohit, Bumrah, Shami and Jadeja
World Test Championship points are at stake as India face Bangladesh in the first of the two-Test series at Chattogram, beginning Wednesday. Currently fourth on the table behind Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka, India will qualify for the final if they win these two Tests and the four against Australia later at home. India are depleted, missing regular opener and captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja, but Bangladesh have a miserable home record and India are not expected to be pushed in their quest for victory.
"There is a World Test championship (final) qualification so we will also have to be aggressive as well. We know where we stand and what we need to do to qualify for the final. Each day, each session we will have to assess what is required for the team in that particular moment and try to give our best and enjoy each day of Test cricket,” stand-in skipper KL Rahul said at a press conference on Monday.
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"We won't go in with any set mindset. There is a history of a certain venue. You look at the numbers and you take certain pointers from that. At least for us we will go there and try to be aggressive and brave, try and get a result.”
Bangladesh have never won against India in 22 years of Test cricket, the last Test in Fatullah ending in a rain-affected draw in 2015. But they would be eager to use some of the momentum gained in winning the recent ODI series in the longest format. They too are struck with injuries though. Taskin Ahmed will be unavailable as he is coming off a back injury. And Shakib Al Hasan is still iffy after he was hit on the rib cage during the second ODI. The batting has a semblance of stability with Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the middle order. But the focus will again be on Mehidy Hasan Miraz—the toast of the nation after his man-of-the-series-winning effort in the ODIs—as his only Test hundred has come in Chattogram.
In the absence of Jadeja—a huge force in Tests on the subcontinent—India are expected to go with Axar Patel who will complement Ravichandran Ashwin. Umesh Yadav, an expert seamer in subcontinent conditions, will share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj but it remains to be seen if India go for a pacer or a spinner as the fifth bowler. Given Bangladesh are better players of spin, India could be tempted to choose between Jaydev Unadkat—a left-arm option—and Navdeep Saini.
“One good thing is a lot of these guys are playing. Look at the bowlers that we have right now, Siraj has played a lot of cricket and Umesh has played a lot too, Saini has played a couple of games in the A series that has recently concluded which is good so everyone is in touch,” India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “As far as others missed out there, Bumrah and Shami definitely will be missed. We also look at this as an opportunity for the others to have a chance to play cricket and perform for the team.”
India’s batting more or less picks itself. In Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, the middle-order looks solid and dependable. Rishabh Pant too returns to a format that has been more generous to him. Rahul though has to choose between Shubman Gill and the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran as his opening partner. As third opener, Gill has experience in his favour but Easwaran comes into this Test riding dominant innings of 157 and 141 in the two matches against Bangladesh A that preceded this series.
