India captain KL Rahul won the all-important toss and elected to bat first in the 1st Test match against Bangladesh at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on December 14 (Wednesday). The visitors went in with a combination of three spinners and two pacers in their playing XI. For Bangladesh, Zakir Hasan was handed his maiden Test cap by captain Shakib Al Hasan and he became the 101st player to represent his country in red-ball cricket.
India playing XI: Shubman Gill, KL Rahul(c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Bangladesh playing XI: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Zakir Hasan, Yasir Ali, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain
KL Rahul's tactical acumen will be tested along with his batting prowess when a depleted Team India take on a tricky Bangladesh side in the first of their two-match Test series, the result of which will have an impact on India's chances for the World Test Championship (WTC) final qualification.
The side are currently fourth in the WTC table behind Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka, and the only way of qualifying for the final in June is to win both the Tests against Bangladesh and then the four at home against Pat Cummins' Australia. The journey starts at the Zahoor Ahmed Stadium, which has traditionally favoured batters but should also offer some turn towards the business end of the match.
The visitors will start as favourites in the Test format, where Bangladesh are yet to beat India but the absence of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja could hurt the side. Jadeja's absence on such tracks puts India on the back foot, especially when the opposition team is batting in the third innings or fourth innings.
Squads
India: KL Rahul (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, Saurabh Kumar, Kona Bharat, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Litton Das (wk), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mominul Haque, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanta, Rejaul Rahaman Raja, Zakir Hasan (wk), Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali.
