India will face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, which is set to start on Thursday (September 19) at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. India has managed to win 11 out of 13 red-ball matches played against the Bangladeshi team so far, and under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, the hosts would like to make it 13 wins at the end of the series.
India hammered England 4-1 in the last Test series played on Indian soil, whereas Bangladesh is coming after securing a historic 2-0 win over Pakistan in the series played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Ahead of the start of the Chennai Test, former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has made his prediction about the Test series and said despite the historic triumph over Pakistan, Bangladesh won’t be able to give tough time to India, and the hosts will comfortably win the series.
“I personally don’t think so. I think beating India in India is a humongous task, and Bangladesh has played well in Pakistan, but no, I don’t think it will be much trouble for India to beat Bangladesh,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz’s HeyCB with DK show.
The 39-year-old former stumper, who has now donned the hat of an expert, was also asked about India’s likely playing XI for the first Test. According to him, despite playing at home, India will prepare pace-oriented pitches keeping Australian series in mind, and that’s why he included three pacers and two spinners in his XI.
“First of all, I get the feeling India is going to play on slightly pace-oriented pitches, knowing that it’s a good way to beat Bangladesh; also, they’ll be preparing for the Australian Test series that’s coming right ahead, Down Under, end of the year; it will be there at the back of your mind. No doubt about it, I think they’ll only play the two spinners; it’s going to be Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, followed by three fast bowlers.”
Apart from world No. 1 Test bowler Ashwin and world No. 1 all-rounder Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are also part of India’s squad for the first match.
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