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Team India completed an emphatic win over Bangladesh in the first Test at Chattogram and now head to Dhaka to try and complete a 2-0 whitewash. The visitors have to win at least four out of their remaining five Tests to make it into the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
However, the hosts will also be driven to fight back and put up a challenge in their own den. They will hope to draw level following a disappointing display in the series opener, which came after a 2-1 win in the ODI series.
The pitch in Dhaka is likely to offer more help to the spinners compared to the one in Chattogram. This makes for quite a few interesting match-ups between the two sides, and those could define the direction in which the game might end up heading.
On that note, let's take a look at three such potential face-offs ahead of the second Test:
#3 Shakib Al Hasan vs Kuldeep Yadav
Shakib Al Hasan was not fully fit to bowl in the first Test, but was a pillar for Bangladesh with respect to batting. He smashed a counter-attacking 84 in the second innings, but ultimately couldn't stop his team from falling to a defeat.
Fast-bowling coach Allan Donald has confirmed that the Bangladesh skipper is fit for the second Test and is likely to bowl as well.
While this is great news for the hosts, India won't be that worried due to the way in which wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav dominated the southpaw in the first Test. Kuldeep dismissed Shakib in both innings and the latter found it difficult to read the Chinaman bowler's deliveries at times.
Given Shakib's attacking instincts, Kuldeep will fancy his chances of getting the better of the opposition skipper again.
#2 Rishabh Pant vs Mehidy Hasan
Rishabh Pant looked at his fluent best in the first innings of the first Test, where he smashed a breezy 46. The southpaw also became the second-fastest Indian after Rohit Sharma to smash 50 sixes in Tests.
However, he was dismissed by off-spinner Mehidy Hasan while trying to play a cheeky shot that was probably not needed at the time. Although Mehidy doesn't spin the ball big, he is a smart operator.
Both players will be keen to dominate each other in the second Test and that's what makes this match-up intriguing.
#1 Virat Kohli vs Taijul Islam
Virat Kohli's woes against spin, particularly in Tests, continued in the first innings of the first Test. He failed to read a delivery from left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and ended up being trapped in front after going on the back-foot.
Kohli was seen practicing hard in the nets after the win in Chattogram and will likely have been keen on working out his technical flaws. Taijul, meanwhile, will be confident of coming up trumps against the former Indian skipper once again.
It will be interesting to see how both players treat this match-up in Dhaka. Kohli might look to dominate the Bangladesh spinner with a tweaked technique, while Taijul will look to cause more problems for the star Indian batter.
