New Delhi: The Men in Blue will take on Bangladesh in the second Test at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, starting on September 26, Friday. Team India won the first Test by 280 runs in Chennai and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Rohit Sharma and Co. dominated the first Test, which was played on the red-soil pitch. A 199-run partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin got India out of the trouble on the first two days. Ashwin scored his sixth Test century and Jadeja also scored 86 runs.
While pacers got a lot of assistance from the surface and dismissed Bangladesh for 149 runs in the first innings. Jasprit Bumrah picked up 4 wickets while Siraj and Akash Deep also picked up two wickets each. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant notched up brilliant centuries in the second innings and Ashwin took 6 wickets as The Men in Blue won the match comfortably.
Kanpur pitch support spinners?
The red-soil pitch in Chennai assisted fast bowlers on the initial days. In the first innings of the opening Test, Bangladeshi pacers took 9 wickets while Indian fast bowlers picked up 8 wickets. But the pitch at Green Park is different as it has black-soil content in it.
The black-soil surface will be flatter for the first two days but the ball will start turning from day 3 and the bounce on the pitch will be lower. The spinners will get much more assistance from the pitch and Team India will likely play an extra spinner in the second Test.
Kuldeep or Axar?
Axar Patel will add more power to India’s batting order if Rohit selects him for the second Test. However, the team management might be tempted to allow Kuldeep Yadav to bowl with Ashwin and Jadeja as they gear up for the Australia tour.
Kuldeep has played only eight Test matches at home after making his debut in 2017 while Axar made his Test debut in 2021 and has played 12 Tests in home conditions. Overall, Kuldeep took 53 wickets in 12 Tests and Axar picked up 55 wickets in 14 Test matches. India have played 23 Test matches in Kanpur and won seven out of them while 17 matches ended in a draw. The last two Tests played at the venue went to the fifth day.
Likely playing XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep/Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.
Team India will face Bangladesh in the second Test match at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Will Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir make any changes to India’s playing XI for the Kanpur Test? Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
