Bangladesh were on a high of beating Pakistan in Pakistan to record a historic Test series win. However, that confidence was decimated by the Indian cricket team as Najmul Hossain Shanto’s side suffered a 280-run defeat at the hands of Rohit Sharma’s unit in Chennai.
At the Chepauk, India took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. The second Test will be played at Green Park in Kanpur from September 27, Friday.
Both teams are expected to make at least one change in their playing XIs from the Chennai Test; both are likely to bring in one spinner for a pacer. That is because of the change in the nature of the pitches at these two venues.
The Chennai Test was played on a red-soil surface that had bounce and carry. It had been imported from Mumbai a couple of years ago. Because of the bounce in the red-soil pitch, both sides went with three pacers.
However, that combination is expected to change in Kanpur, where the pitch is made of black soil. The black-soil pitch is slow and low in nature and doesn’t offer bounce anywhere near to a red-soil pitch. The surface in Kanpur becomes slower as the match progresses. It will be much better for batting than the Chennai pitch, and batters will find themselves at more comfort in Kanpur.
The last Test match played in Kanpur was in 2021 between India and New Zealand. It ended in a draw, albeit with India being only one wicket away from victory. Despite the presence of all three R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel in India’s line-up, the hosts were not able to bowl New Zealand out twice.
India Predicted XI For 2nd IND vs BAN Test: Kuldeep Yadav to bring in X-factor and form
The change India are expected to make is that either one of Mohammed Siraj or Akash Deep will make way for either Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel. Even though Axar picked up a five-for against New Zealand in the 2021 Kanpur Test, his bowling form hasn’t been great in Tests, while Kuldeep has shot up significantly as a match-winner in the longest format.
Earlier this year, in the home Test series against England, Kuldeep was the joint-third-highest wicket-taker, with 19 scalps in four Tests. On the other hand, Axar managed only five wickets in two matches and was replaced by Kuldeep in the XI.
Kuldeep brings both form and the rarity factor of being a quality left-arm wrist-spinner. There’s more: Kuldeep hails from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and grew up playing there. His knowledge about the pitch and conditions would be immensely crucial to his own bowling, and he could provide input to his teammates as well.
Although Axar provides batting depth, the factors that Kuldeep brings to the table as a bowler seem to outweigh the batting bonus of Axar.
India Predicted XI For 2nd IND vs BAN Test in Kanpur:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj/Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah
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