🏏 Bangladesh tour of India 2024: 1st Test - BD vs IND @ 9:30AM IST🏏

🏏 Bangladesh tour of India 2024: 1st Test from 19 to 23/09/2024 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai at 9:30AM IST🏏

They like a big game and they like their cricket history here in Chennai. This is reflected all around the refurbished M.A Chidambaram stadium, including the press conference room that is now tastefully adorned with framed portraits of newspaper reports from famous Tests played here. Naturally, Bangladesh don't have a mention here as yet.

Even in an age derided for excessive cricket, India haven't shared much of that big-brother jollity with Bangladesh after welcoming them to this format of the game in 2000. In fact, it took them a good part of 17 years to finally host their neighbours for a Test. Games between these two sides too haven't quite risen to any big match status, either as an occasion or as a rivalry - despite the spikiness associated with the white-ball contests and the rise in internet hostilities. That India have won 11 of the 13 contests so far with the other two washed out offers some explanation.

What the two countries do share is a common narrative to the early early decades of their Test journey - of desperately wanting to shake off that albatross of struggling to put together consistent overseas wins. Bangladesh have been faster on that front and as a Test side may be nearing an inflexion point following their two superb wins in Pakistan. Their reward for that achievement is to head straight into Test cricket's toughest gig. India have won 17 straight series and have lost only four Tests at home in the last 11 years while Chennai will only be Bangladesh's fourth appearance in a Test in this country.

All these imposing facts staring Bangladesh in the eye would appear to give the visitors no chance to get anything out of the series. Sometimes, that is not a bad place to start, for it can help fortify resolve and discover hidden depths within players. Because, in the next two weeks, every facet of their game will be challenged: their techniques will be subject to severe scrutiny, their staying power will be tested on long, unforgiving days. But if this young team can go through that and catch India cold in a season opener, they'll have made their biggest step up in this format. It's a nothing-to-lose opportunity for the players to make a name for themselves, perhaps even on the walls of the press conference room at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium.

In the spotlight: Rishabh Pant and Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Since his car accident in December 2022, Rishabh Pant has made a comeback in the IPL, T20Is, and ODIs. Now nearly two years later, a Test comeback beckons. It is a format Pant has excelled in; he has an average close to 44, a strike of 70-plus, with 11 fifties and five centuries. In his absence, Ishan Kishan, KS Bharat, Rahul and Dhruv Jurel have all donned the wicketkeeping gloves, but now that Pant is back, he's set to take back his place behind the stumps. He proved his fitness in the opening Duleep Trophy encounter in Bengaluru, where he kept for 125.4 overs across the two innings. Ahead of a busy season, Pant might want to get his Test motor running nice and early.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe reckoned Mehidy Hasan Miraz was "ready to take over whenever Shakib moves out". Recent numbers suggest he is well on course. In the current WTC cycle, no Bangladesh player has scored more runs than Mehidy (380 in ten innings) or taken more wickets (23 in six Tests). He was a key contributor with both bat and ball in Bangladesh's series win in Pakistan and on a Chennai track which is likely to aid spin, particularly later in the game, Mehidy has a chance to further enhance his Test credentials.

Team news: Will India go with three spinners?

India have largely tended to play three spinners and two quicks in their home Tests, but they could be tempted to play three quicks against Bangladesh - as they did in both Tests in the 2019-20 series - on a red-soil Chepauk pitch that promises bounce and carry. Spin, though, is expected to play a major role as the pitch bakes under the Chennai sun, so three spinners seems the likelier option. In this case, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will lead the fast bowling unit, with R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as the three spinners.

Additionally, KL Rahul is in line to come back into the Test fold for the first time since a quadriceps injury cut short his series against England earlier this year. He will likely replace Sarfaraz Khan in the middle order. Meanwhile, Pant is also likely to slot back into the wicketkeeper role in place of Dhruv Jurel, who played the last three Tests against England.

Bangladesh are unlikely to make too many tweaks to their winning playing XI from the second Test in Pakistan last month. They may also look to play three spinners. Bangladesh fielded Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana as their three quicks in the second Test in Rawalpindi, and the pace trio picked up 14 of the 20 wickets they took, including all ten in the second innings. But in Chennai, they could think about bringing Taijul into the mix alongside Shakib and Mehidy.

Shakib arrived in Chennai late on Tuesday night after playing a game for Surrey in the County Championship.

Pitch and conditions: Expect the Chennai heat to play a part

The Chennai pitch for the opening Test will be a red-soil one and while there could be considerable bounce and carry for both the quicks and spinners, the surface is likely to break under the searing Chennai heat. This will mean the spinners should come into play as the Test goes on. There is an excessive heat warning in Chennai at the moment, with temperatures likely to be in the mid to high 30s (Celsius) range.

Stats and trivia

• India are on a streak of 17 unbeaten home Test series, which dates back to November 2012
• Jasprit Bumrah is the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests in 2024: 27 in five games at 15.07
• With 1028 runs in just nine Tests, Yashasvi Jaiswal is second on the list of top run-getters in the current WTC cycle. His average of 68.53 puts him second behind Kamindu Mendis among the top ten names on this list.
• Pant averages 77.16 against spinners in Tests in India and strikes at 100.87.
• Mushfiqur Rahim averages 55.16 in Tests in Indiia

When: India vs Bangladesh, 1st Test, September 19-23, 09:30 IST, 04:00 GMT

Where: M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: It's a straw-coloured red soil wicket with grass on it presumably left to bind the surface. It should offer good bounce. Deterioration and assistance for the spinners though could come along quicker owing to the high forecasted day temperatures in Chennai this week.

Team News:

India

In the last Test series between these sides on these shores, India attacked Bangladesh with a lot of pace and the surface in Chennai could allow India to play with just Ashwin and Jadeja as the two spinners. However, in the interest of rotating the quicks through the home season, they are likely to stick with the 2-3 combination and have Kuldeep extend his rare run of continuous Tests to five. India though could split the pair of Bumrah and Siraj in the interest of having one experienced pacer available while the other rests. KL Rahul is expected to start ahead of Sarfaraz Khan in the middle-order despite the latter being one of only two Indian batters to use the optional practice session on the day before the game for a top-up session.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep/Mohammed Siraj

Bangladesh

The visitors will have a similar toss-up to their bowling combination given their own two spin-bowling all-rounders. They played three seamers in Pakistan but with conditions expected to be a little more conducive for spin this week than it had been in Rawalpindi, Taijul Islam is a solid option. There is also a temptation to break the chain of left-handers in the line-up by bringing in Mahmudul Hasan Joy at the top of the order, but such a change might constitute a needless change of a winning team and will be resisted.

Probable XI: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana

Did you know?

- If India win the Chennai Test, it will be the first time in their history that they'd have more wins than defeats in the format

- Yashasvi Jaiswal is only seven sixes behind Brendon McCullum's record of most sixes (33) hit in a calendar year in Tests

- Mehidy Hasan Miraz has the highest run aggregate (380 at 47.5) and also the most wickets (23 at 28.0) for Bangladesh in this WTC cycle

What they said:

"It's not easy when you do not play [Tests] for a period of six to eight months. The good thing is, a lot of guys in the squad are quite experienced with that. It has happened previously as well, which is why it was important for us to have this little camp over here in Chennai. And guys who have not played a lot of Test cricket obviously went on to play the Duleep Trophy, which was good. So in terms of preparation, in terms of readiness, I feel we are quite ready for this game and what lies ahead of us." - Rohit Sharma on India's readiness for the 10-Test swing over the next three and a half months.

"I think this is probably the most well-rounded team that Bangladesh has produced [in my two tenures here]... We're covering a lot of bases, we've got good fast bowlers, we've got a really experienced spin attack and then the batting, we actually have good depth... So our balance of the team in this series is really, really good and that gives us actually a lot more confidence that we can be competitive in this series." - Chandika Hathurusinghe on why Bangladesh can compete in Test cricket's toughest assignment