Bangladesh are the latest side to attempt what is seemingly becoming the impossible in terms of being India in their back yard when the two sides begin a two match Test series in Indore on Thursday.
The Tigers were competitive in the T20 series which has just gone but this is potentially a whole different test entirely. India have probably forgotten how to lose in front of their home fans, or empty grounds as it sometimes is, and will look to keep it that way here.
India
The Indians have just eased past South Africa in a Test series which extended their record to 26 wins, five draws and a defeat in their 32 home Tests going back to the start of 2013. That is a ridiculous record and really highlights the size of the Bangladesh task this week. One of the reasons for that record is the phenomenal strength of their batting in home conditions. You can count the number of times that their batting unit failed in that period on one hand.
The other reason is the quality of their bowling attack. They have always had good bowlers, especially spinners, but when they have gone into alien conditions they have struggled. That isn’t the case now. There is no respite for the opposition batsmen given the quality of the seamers and the spinners anymore and what I like about them is that even when sides are digging in and forming a partnership they’ve got players who can steam in and change things up.
Bangladesh
Clearly the Bangladeshis were going to be up against it in this series just on the record of the Indians at home but when you add in the stars they are missing for it, things are certainly not getting any easier for the Tigers. They did show in the T20 matches that they shouldn’t be written off, or if you do write them off they could come back and bite you. Clearly they will need plenty to go in their favour to win here and I don’t see it happening but I didn’t see it happening in the T20s either.
The big issue Bangladesh have here more than any other for me is the quality of their bowling attack. It isn’t good enough in any conditions really. I guess if it is going to succeed then it will be here in relatively familiar conditions but the simple fact is that there isn’t enough good quality bowlers in their ranks. That puts the pressure on their batsmen and while they deliver the goods as much as they can, they will be up against it here.
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Team News
Virat Kohli sat out the T20 series but he is back for the Test matches. The top seven for India will be the same as the one used against South Africa but there is talk that three seamers will play which keeps Umesh Yadav in the mix.
Bangladesh are without Shakib-al-Hasan and Tamim Iqbal for this series which isn’t ideal. Liton Das will keep wicket and Mushfiqur Rahim will play as a batsman only. Bangladesh will need to choose between Saif Hassan and Imrul Kayes to partner Shadman Islam at the top of the order.
Holkar Stadium
There has only been one previous Test match on this ground which came three years ago as India thrashed New Zealand courtesy of a double century from Virat Kohli in the first innings and 13 wickets for R Ashwin over the course of the match. India put up 550+ in the first dig with New Zealand bowled out for 299 and 153. It would be folly to expect much different here even though there is said to be more grass on the pitch than usual. Spinners will eventually dominate you would think.
Betting
I don’t think we’re going to get much joy betting on the match or team markets in this series because India are likely to win both matches with a fair bit in hand and the usual protagonists will deliver the goods so we need to do a bit of bobbing and weaving when it comes to finding a bet to get stuck into this week.
Depending on where you shop, the first innings runs line for Rohit Sharma varies between 35.5 and 44.5 and I’m more than happy to jump on the lower line. Sharma is in sensational form at the minute. In two of the three first innings against South Africa recently he made 176 and 212 and he has already clobbered 85 in a T20 against Bangladesh recently. Sharma is a class act but he needs to keep on performing as there is a lot of quality looking to get into this side. He can do that by passing 35 in the first innings here.
Tips
Back R.Sharma – Over 35.5 first innings runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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