Why India has everything to lose against Bangladesh

Potentially the least exciting encounter of a most eagerly anticipated home Test season for India beckons tomorrow at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The odds are stacked in favour of the hosts who seem to be on an unstoppable run of form in Test cricket.

However, Bangladesh have made it a habit of taking out highly rated sides every once in a while. Their two-Test series against England, which saw them lose the first Test by a heartbreaking 22 runs while coming back strongly to demolish the visitors in the second, would have filled them up with self-belief. Their batting exploits on the recent tour to New Zealand would also be fresh in their minds.

Shakib Al Hasan’s wonderful double hundred at Wellington, which is also the highest Test score by a Bangladeshi batsman, has certainly sent out a strong message about his will to play the long innings. The Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was not to be left far behind as he played a fighting knock himself, scoring 159 invaluable runs.

Their 359 run partnership was the highest ever for Bangladesh in Tests. That they went on to lose that Test match after having declared their first innings at 595, proved yet again that they are still to learn the skill of pressing home an advantage in the five-day format.

That is exactly what they will try to do against India in the one-off Test starting tomorrow, and it is exactly what the hosts need to watch out for. Many records are on the line for Virat Kohli’s boys, including their longest ever unbeaten streak in Tests and the most number of consecutive Test series victories.

Having played their neighbours eight times in Tests and winning on six occasions, the hosts will be eager to post a comprehensive victory in this one-off Test and maintain their winning run. Apart from the captain himself, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin have warned the side against taking Bangladesh lightly.

Having lost his last Test match way back in 2015, Kohli will not want to earn the notorious reputation of being the first Indian Test captain to lose a match to Bangladesh. There is yet more to this contest than just statistics.

The team that Kohli has built prides itself on being aggressive and will be playing this Test with one eye on the next Test series encounter which will be against a much stronger Australian team. A loss in this one-off Test against the minnows will hurt them not only statistically, but also psychologically.

Had India conceded a defeat to any other team, be it New Zealand or England, it would not have been as surprising as it will be if they concede a defeat to the Bangladeshis. Known to be giant killers in the shorter formats, the visitors are only just coming to terms with cricket’s original format.

The self-belief is evident in the way in which they blooded an unknown 19-year-old spinner in a must-win encounter against a formidable England. Bangladesh have started to play fearless cricket in Tests just as they have been doing for a while now in the shorter formats. That should worry India.

Battle of the spin twins

It will be the proverbial David Vs Goliath battle of Test cricket

Another interesting aspect is the similarity of the spin combination between the two sides. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are sure starters for the Test, presenting an off spin – left arm orthodox spin combination. On the other hand, the visitors will definitely be counting on Shakib’s left-arm orthodox spin to gel well with young Mehedi Hasan’s off spin. India’s premier spin combination will not want to come in second behind the visitors' spin duo.

Hyderabad has been a happy hunting ground for Ashwin, where he has picked up 18 wickets in two Tests at an astonishing average of 10.50, and he will want to maintain that record. The other player to have done exceedingly well at this venue is Cheteshwar Pujara.

The dependable top order batsman averages a staggering 181.50 thanks to innings of 159 and 204. Interestingly, Ashwin and Pujara are the ones who have spoken up about the quality of the visiting team and the threat that they will pose in spinning, subcontinental conditions.

It will be the proverbial David Vs Goliath battle of Test cricket. India are unlikely to play Tests against Zimbabwe any time in the next decade and so, this will be the biggest difference in terms of Test rankings between two competing sides.

India sits pretty at the top of the rankings, while Bangladesh only sit on top of a slender pillow called Zimbabwe. Considering this vast divide, the top-ranked Test team will not want to show any signs of weakness against the underdogs. Australia will be watching this encounter keenly and the slightest weakness on show will be heavily exploited by the Kangaroos.

That is all the more reason that India has to convincingly defeat their neighbours. The hosts will want to send a strong message to the Aussies who will be arriving shortly.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be looking to just ‘show the world’ that they too can play against strong Test teams. The only two times that India-Bangladesh Test matches ended in a draw were due to inclement weather. Weather will not save the Bangladeshis from a defeat in Hyderabad. If they have to avoid defeat, they’ll have to do it on their own terms.

Yet, it is easy to see that Bangladesh have little to lose. Even a draw will be a victory of sorts for the visitors, proving that they can last five days against the best Test team in the world. The visiting captain has already played down the fact that this is a historic Test, saying that for him and his team it is just another Test match.

For him, playing Zimbabwe is a more high-pressure situation than playing India. In stark contrast, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has said that the one-off Test is a historic occasion, and that the Bangladeshi should visit more often.

Historic or not, India have finally set right a historical wrong by inviting the neighbours over for a Test match, seventeen years after welcoming them into the Test fold. All eight Test matches between the two sides have taken place on Bangladeshi soil. Having failed to match up to their big neighbour, the visitors will be pleased as long as they manage to put up a fight.

Everything points to the fact that India has everything to lose against the visitors and that the Bangladeshis will play like they have nothing to lose when they take the field tomorrow. It remains to be seen if this one off Test will be a stepping stone in the hosts’ successful Test season or the stone that upturned the apple cart.