Mission Impossible For Bangladesh In India

Fresh from a lengthy break, India will aim for a winning start to kickV off their new season when they take on Bangladesh in a two Test series next week.

The first Test will be played in Chennai from September 19, while the second Test in Kanpur will be played from September 27.

While India's players have enjoyed a long break, the Bangladesh players are coming into the series full of confidence after their 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan.

India boast of a near perfect record against Bangladesh in Tests, having never lost a Test match against their neighbours.

In eight series played between the two teams, India have won seven while the series in 2015 featuring just one Test finished in a draw. Out of eight series, six have been played in Bangladesh and the other two in India.

A total of 13 matches have been played between the two teams, with India winning 11 of those games.

The first Test match between the two teams was played more than two decades ago when Bangladesh got Test status in 2000. Sourav Ganguly-led India eased to victory in the one-off Test match by nine wickets.

Bangladesh, captained by Habibul Bashar, won their first Test match against Zimbabwe in Chittagong in 2005 -- four years and two months after their Test debut in their 35th attempt. They went on to draw the second and final Test in Dhaka to register a historic first ever Test series win.

India, who are ranked No 2 in Tests, last played Bangladesh nearly two years ago as they eased to a 2-0 series sweep in December 2022. But since that series loss, Bangladesh have turned around their fortunes, winning five out of the eight Tests played in the last two years.

Their 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan will boost their hopes against India, who are dominant at home. Bangladesh will do well to remember that they ran India close in the previous Test played against them nearly two years ago.

In the Dhaka Test in December 2022, India registered a nervy three wicket victory after being set 145 for victory. They nearly messed up the chase after being reduced to 71/6 at one point before Ravichandran Ashwin saved the day with an unbeaten 42 and his unbroken stand of 71 runs for the eighth wicket with Shreyas Iyer, who made 29 not out as India won the series 2-0.

Bangladesh certainly have the personnel who could cause India lot of problems. Veterans Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim have enough experience of playing against India, while Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto add a formidable look to the batting.

But their biggest weapon is the bowling. Nahid Rana, 21, can hurry the Indian batters for pace with his ability to bowl consistently in the range of 150kph and above, while Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed are also quite capable seamers.

Even though some of their key players come into the series without actually touching a bat or ball in the last few weeks, India are still a formidable unit.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah enjoyed a deserved break and will be keen to get going against Bangladesh as they seek a good start to the new season.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will be desperate to get back among the runs after their below par showing in the Duleep Trophy, while the one to watch out for will be Rishabh Pant, who is back in the Test team after nearly two years.

The spin quarter of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are capable of running through any batting line-up, while there is enough firework in the pace department in Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj with young guns Akash Deep and Yash Dayal among the back-ups.

Bangladesh are braced up with one of the toughest tasks in cricket in the next couple of weeks as beating India in India is next to impossible.

India's last series defeat at home came against England in 2012-2013. Since then, India have dominated with 17 home series in a row and it won't be a surprise if they extended the record further against Bangladesh.

The best of teams have returned empty handed from India in the last decade. During this period, Australia and England have lost three series in India, while South Africa have suffered two successive 3-0 series sweeps, while the likes of New Zealand and Sri Lanka have failed to win a single Test.

And more worrying for Bangladesh will be the fact that India no longer depend on spin to win Test matches at home as England found out when their 'Bazball' came down crashing against the fiery pace of Jasprit Bumrah.

Head to Head: India vs Bangladesh in Tests

India vs Bangladesh: List of Test matches