Bangladesh will be looking to bounce back when they take on India in the second Test of the two-match series in Dhaka on Thursday, 22nd December.
The hosts suffered a crushing 188-run defeat to India in the first Test. They got completely outplayed in both batting and bowling departments, but it was their batting that looked more jittery in the match. They were bowled out for 150 in their first innings as the batters succumbed against India’s spin attack. They put on a much more resilient batting performance in the second innings, with debutant Zakir Hasan scoring a century and Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan also getting fifties. But even that couldn’t help them in taking the match to a draw.
India, on the other hand, faced some hiccups in their first innings but Cheteshwar Pujara and Shreyas Iyer’s superb knocks of 90 and 86 respectively bailed them out. Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav also made valuable contributions of 58 and 40 respectively, as India reached a total of 404.
Kuldeep Yadav was India’s star with the ball as he claimed a five-wicket haul in the first innings and then followed that up with another three wickets in the second innings. Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj also bowled well, troubling the Bangladeshi batters a lot. Pujara and Shubman Gill also got centuries, making the match memorable for them and the Indian fans as well. Now they will be looking to repeat their feat in the second Test match.
Probable Playing XIs
Bangladesh
Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain
India
Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Key Players
Cheteshwar Pujara: The No.3 batter showed once again why he is seen as a pillar of the Indian batting unit in this format. Pujara made 90 and 102* in the first Test and will be eager to carry that form forward.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz: The all-rounder was in very good form in the ODI series and performed pretty well in the first Test as well. Mehidy picked up five wickets in the last match and also registered scores of 25 and 13 in the two innings.
Prediction
Bangladesh are a talented team and they showed that when they won the ODI series against India. But the gulf between the two sides in this format was visible in the way they lost the first Test and that difference in quality makes India the favourites to win this match once again.
