Match Details:
Series/tournament name: India vs. Bangladesh
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Date: November 22, 2019
Time: 1 p.m. IST
Preview:
After the drubbing at Indore, India reach Kolkata as they host their first ever day-night Test match. India and Bangladesh are latest in the bandwagon to play pink ball Tests among the top 10 Test teams. While India got to practice against the pink ball at Indore in the twilight hours, Bangladesh have had little time to wake up from the hiding they received.
India's pacers are expected to be even more potent with the pink ball and Bangladesh, depleted by the absence of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, and hurting from the Kolkata loss will have their task cut out.
Weather report:
Clear skies are expected on all five days. Conditions could encourage a bit of swing, particularly under the lights.
Pitch report:
The pitch is reported to have 6mm of grass cover, making it a lively pace bowling wicket. The pink ball in the third session of the Test could be too hot to handle for the batsmen.
Predicted Playing XI:
India: Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma
Bangladesh: Imrul Kayes, Shadman Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Mominul Haque (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Liton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan/ Taijul Islam, Mustafizur
Match Details:
Series/tournament name: India vs. Bangladesh
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Date: November 22, 2019
Time: 1 p.m. IST
Preview:
After the drubbing at Indore, India reach Kolkata as they host their first ever day-night Test match. India and Bangladesh are latest in the bandwagon to play pink ball Tests among the top 10 Test teams. While India got to practice against the pink ball at Indore in the twilight hours, Bangladesh have had little time to wake up from the hiding they received.
India's pacers are expected to be even more potent with the pink ball and Bangladesh, depleted by the absence of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, and hurting from the Kolkata loss will have their task cut out.
Weather report:
Clear skies are expected on all five days. Conditions could encourage a bit of swing, particularly under the lights.
Pitch report:
The pitch is reported to have 6mm of grass cover, making it a lively pace bowling wicket. The pink ball in the third session of the Test could be too hot to handle for the batsmen.
Predicted Playing XI:
India: Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma
Bangladesh: Imrul Kayes, Shadman Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Mominul Haque (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Liton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan/ Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed, Ebadat Hossain
Top Picks:
Wicket-keeper: Liton Das (8.5 credits)
While conventional logic might point at someone like Wriddhiman Saha, Liton Das has a more realistic chance of actually batting than Pant. As such, Das, who showed form in Indore before faltering like his mates, is a decent pick from this category.
Batsman: Mayank Agarwal (8.5 credits)
Mayank Agarwal has been in some form for India in Test cricket. Since his debut, no batsman has made more runs in Test cricket across the globe. If you are to pick one batsman for the Kolkata Test, it has to be Mayank without a shade of doubt.
All-rounder: Ravichandran Ashwin (9.5 credits)
Ravichandran Ashwin has flown under the radar in the last few months, despite doing his job pretty well. The off-spinner has managed to be good enough, even with the pacers doing the bulk of the work. While the pink ball is more aligned to pacers, expect Ashwin to make a mark in the Test.
Bowler: Mohammed Shami (9 credits)
Shami has been India's strike bowler in Tests in this year. In fact, he has a better strike rate than any bowler in Tests this year. The fast bowler has been amongst the wickets and will be a vital player with the pink ball at Eden, where he has played a lot of his cricket.
