Tigers seek redemption for maiden Test victory against India

Putting behind their dismal performance in the two-match series opening game, Bangladesh vowed to show a steely resolve when they take on India in the second and final Test at Green Park in Kanpur tomorrow (Friday).

The match starts at 10 am (Bangladesh Time).

Bangladesh came into the series, high on confidence, following their historic 2-0 sweep against Pakistan but India proved to be an extremely tougher opponent at home.

The Tigers could fight neck-to-neck with India at best for just two sessions before India took the baton and eventually ended up winning it by 280-run margin.

After this defeat, a Test victory against India still remains elusive as Bangladesh now lost 12 in 14, two of which were drawn. The second Test is their last chance for the time being to break the defeat-jinx as they have no Test game scheduled against India in this cycle.

The hosts are now favourite to sweep the series but Bangladesh remained unfazed by the prospect of another Indian juggernaut, hoping that Kanpur pitch will play to their favour.

Kanpur pitch is prepared by black soil, making it a pitch like Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Like the Sher-e-Bangla pitch, Kanpur will also be slow and low, which is believed to suit Bangladeshi spinners more than the Indian.

India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, two key figures who dismantled Bangladesh in the first Test, found more success in turning and sporting pitch but their success ratio in slow wicket is less than Bangladeshi spinners.

Bangladesh may ponder three spinners, adding Tajiul Islam to the fray along with Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. In that case, a batter will be dropped.

Shakib Al Hasan has been hit on his right hand by a Jasprit Bumrah delivery in the first Test and was in clear discomfort but head coach Chandika Hathurusingha insisted the allrounder has no complain about it.

“I have not heard anything on Shakib regarding any complaints. I haven’t heard from my physio or anyone else so he is eligible for selection,” Hathurusingha said during a press conference in Kapur, confirming Shakib’s availability in the second Test.

Even though Shakib bowled less than usual in the first Test and couldn’t do anything worthy with the willow, his presence is believed to boost Bangladesh further in the Mirpur-like pitch in Kanpur.

“I am upset about not his (Shakib’s) performance, but our overall performance and how we could have done better. I am sure that he also thinks that he can perform better and we all know what he is capable of,” he added.

The last time when Bangladesh played a Test against India in Mirpur, they were on the brink of a victory before Ashwin’s heroic batting on Day 5 denied them.

Security was beefed up ahead of the second Test, as multiple right-wing organizations have called to oppose the matches in protest against the alleged recent attacks on Hindu communities in Bangladesh.

Uttar Pradesh Police decided to provide three-tier security for the teams and that is comprised with isolation cordon, outer cordon and outermost cordon. More than 1,000 police officers of different wings have been deployed for the Test match.

Hathurusingha said that they are not concerned over the recent security threats, rather they are worried to how to convert their start, a thing that left Bangladesh in jeopardized state in almost every Test game.
“We are not concerned about the security we have trust that the Indian Cricket Board is looking after it,” he said.

“The concern is what we talk about whether we do that (convert their starts) in the middle and we normally talk about if you get a start make it big, and that’s the biggest concern. Some of the guys are playing 30 to 40 balls and in cricket the hardest thing is to get in.”
Squad

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Jaker Ali Anik, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Syed Khaled Ahmed.

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal. (BSS)