Bangladesh vs. India, Only Test: What Sort Of A Match Have We Got In Front Of Us?

Ravi Shastri's presence in the dressing room will have a positive impact on the Indian players

Team India are all set to take on Bangladesh in the solitary Test Match, which kicks off in a couple of days' time and will be played at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah.

The tour of Bangladesh is India's first assignment after their disappointing semifinal loss to Australia in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Though this series may not render major implications for Virat Kohli and company, it presents them with an opportunity to grow as a Test side and assess their best combination in this format of the game.

In addition, with no disrespect to the hosts, Kohli has a great chance to register his first victory as the official Test captain of Indian cricket team.

The hosts, though, are a dangerous side in their own right and, unlike their illustrious opponents, have no pressure of winning, which in turn gives them the license to go out and express themselves.

Their squad for this solitary Test match is filled with exuberant and talented youngsters, who will look at playing India as an opportunity to announce themselves on the world stage.

For most cricket fans, Bangladesh playing India may not cause much intrigue, but the contest, considering the visitors' palpable weaknesses in the Test match arena, will definitely be closer than what people think.

India

The Indian selection committee led by Sandip Patil, has named a very strong side that does not have many changes from the one which toured Australia at the fag end of last year: Harbhajan Singh has replaced Suresh Raina, while Mohammed Shami is out injured and the spinning duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have been left out.

Harbhajan Singh is expected to play alongside Ravichandran Ashwin, in Fatullah

Also, from the original 15-man squad named for the only Test against Bangladesh, Lokesh Rahul looks set to miss out due to dengue.

The Indian batsmen did well during the tour of Australia, notching up over 300 runs on 5 of the 8 occasions they got to bat in the 4-match Test series.

Virat Kohli led from the front, scoring 692 runs to go along with 4 centuries from 8 innings. He was ably supported by Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 482 and 399 runs, respectively, providing that indispensable solidity at the top and in the middle-order.

Rahul was the only other batsman to score a century for India, who, in hindsight, may have made a better first of it had their bowlers showed more potency and not let Steven Smith, who bailed his side out of trouble on many an occasion during the series, score as many runs - 769 overall - as he did.

Going into the Test against Bangladesh, the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan will look to start scoring runs for the national side again, after enduring two barren series (if you include the tour of England, as well) from their respective point of views.

Rohit Sharma's place in the playing XI remains uncertain, I believe, unless Kohli opts to play just four specialist bowlers, like previous Indian Test captains have done, or axes Pujara.

It will be rather intriguing to see what sort of playing XI the visitors go into the Test with, especially with a new skipper taking over the mantle from MS Dhoni, who captained India in 60 Tests, and proclaiming that he is going to be aggressive and bring a winning mentality to the Indian Test setup.

Kohli has a major task on his hands to turn India into a good Test side

I would like to see the Delhi dasher start playing 5 bowlers from this Test onwards, emphasizing on picking 20 wickets to win Test matches.

In that case, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav would be my three fast bowlers, with Harbhajan and Ravichandran Ashwin as the two spinners to lead the way in sub-continent conditions.

You expect the Indian batsmen to score heavily, though the Bangladesh bowling attack cannot be underestimated and is capable of posing problems. The contest between India's batting and Bangladesh's bowling will be one to watch out for.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh played well against Pakistan, and will look to repeat it against India

The hosts have not made any changes to their Test squad from the one that put up a brave fight against Pakistan last month, losing the 2-match series 1-0 as a result of two poor batting displays in the second Test.

Shahadat Hossain, who twisted his right knee during the 2nd Test against Pakistan, has not made it to the squad for the solitary Test match against India, while Mahmudullah Riyad is also set to miss the entire series including the 3 one-dayers due to a fracture on his left index finger.

It appears that Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh's Test captain, could also be out for the solitary Test with a finger sprain, which could dent the hosts's batting lineup even further.

Most Bangladeshi batsmen scored runs against Pakistan and will look to carry that form into the Test match against India.

The middle-order, though, will have to be shouldered by Shakib Al Hasan, with Mahmudullah out and Mushfiqur uncertain to lead the side. If the wicket-keeper batsman does miss out, Tamim Iqbal will be the one to captain the team and Litton Das will keep wickets.

Imrul Kayes, the opening partner for Tamim, is a typical Test batsman, who will be key to his side keeping the Indian bowlers at bay. He is capable of blunting the new ball and holding one end up, which can in turn help the more explosive batsmen in the side play their natural game.

If you exclude Tamim, Kayes and Shakib from the hosts' batting lineup, the other batsmen - Soumya Sarkar and Shuvagata Hom - are novices at the Test level, having only played 8 matches between them, and that could have a major impact on the result of this game.

It is, therefore, important that Mushfiqur gets fit and leads the side, which will be of much boost to their batting lineup in particular.

Bangladesh will depend heavily on Shakib to score runs and take wickets

Bangladesh's bowling attack is inexplicably inexperienced, and much will depend on Rubel Hossain's pace bowling with the new ball and Shakib's left-arm spin bowling whenever he comes on to bowl.

Mohammad Shahid made his Test debut against Pakistan, and gave a decent account of himself with both the bat and ball.

Taijul Islam, another left-arm spinner, was one of the star performers with the ball for Bangladesh when they played Pakistan, picking up 10 wickets in the 2-match Test series.

If Bangladesh are to make a match out of this, their batsmen have to stand up and score runs. Importantly, not capitulate. Their bowling attack, albeit not an impressive one, can match India's; especially with the host of spinning options they have at their disposal.

Final Thought

Team India, unlike their efficiency in the shorter formats of the game, are not a good Test side by any means. Kohli taking over is a new chapter in the Indian cricketing history, and it remains to be seen if the change in leadership affects the team positively.

Bangladesh, therefore, have to be brave while they bat and somehow post over 300, if they get to bat first, as bowling is the visitors' weak link and still has question marks over its ability to pick 20 wickets in a Test match.

Indian Premier League 2015, 32nd Match Preview: Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai batsmen, starting with Rohit, need to pull up their socks

Mumbai Indians (MI) kick start their second phase of this season's Pepsi Indian Premier League with a home game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday.

Mumbai are yet to post back-to-back victories this season, and will be looking to do just that when the Royals travel to the Wankhede Stadium tomorrow.

The Royals, on other hand, come into this game on the back of two washed out fixtures, including yesterday's against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and may just be feeling a bit desperate to play a full game.

These two sides produced a humdinger in the corresponding fixture at the Wankhede last season, and with the race for top 4 intensifying with each passing game; could we be in for another exhilarating contest?

Read on...as we get an understanding of how the sides stack up against each other, heading into tomorrow night's encounter.

Mumbai

MI's victories this season have come while they have batted first and put up competitive totals on the board.

Lendl Simmons starred with half-centuries in his side's victories against RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and, just as it was season, is a vital cog in this stuttering Mumbai outfit.

Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have been the two other MI batsmen to have made substantial contributions, with each one of them scoring over 200 runs so far in the tournament.

Although the aforementioned trio will once again hold the key against the Royals, the likes of Unmukt Chand, Parthiv Patel and Ambati Rayudu, if they play, ought to stand up and score runs for the team.

Chand, in particular, needs to score runs, as his tally of 89 runs from 4 innings, including a half-century against the Royal Challengers, doesn't reflect his potential and batting position (No.3) in the side.

If he comes good with the bat, not only will Mumbai score a lot more runs as a batting unit, but the likes of Pollard and Rohit, who are the power-hitters in the side, can play carefree cricket which will only bring the best of them.

The bowling attack has also failed to deliver except for one game against Sunrisers, who couldn't chase down a mere 158 in MI's last game.

Lasith Malinga, however, found some form in that game, picking up 4 wickets, and was tremendously backed up by Mitchell McClenaghan, who picked up 3 wickets himself.

Harbhajan Singh, despite having a poor outing against SRH, is the second highest wicket-taker, behind Malinga's 10, with 8 wickets under his belt so far. Harbhajan has also made crucial runs with the bat in certain games, and will be crucial to MI's success during the second phase of this season.

The trio of Malinga, McClenaghan and Harbhajan are certainties in Mumbai's playing XI, but which two bowlers complete the 5-man bowling attack Ricky Ponting and Rohit covet?

Jagadeesha Suchith bowled well in the win over SRH and exudes a calm head on his shoulders. If I was part of the team management, I would stick with him, solely on the basis of his performance in the last game.

Vinay Kumar, having taken just 1 wicket in 5 games and conceding close to 8 runs per over, is the weak link as far as Mumbai's bowling attack is concerned.

The alternatives for Vinay - Jasprit Bumrah, Pawan Suyal, Shreyas Gopal - haven't done well whenever they have been given chances, so it will be a tricky decision for the team management to take. But the Karnataka seamer, without a shadow of doubt, is the weak link in the bowling department.

Going into this game, I have no doubt that the batting lineup has to step up and deliver. The bowling attack, despite the presence of Malinga, McClenaghan and Harbhajan, remains Mumbai's weakest point, and looks likely to only feed off big totals set by the batsmen.

Rajasthan

The Royals are the team to have played the most games (9) already this season.

They won their first five games and had that invincibility about them, as they bulldozed the likes of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Mumbai - teams that couldn't stand up to the might of Rajasthan.

Two of Royals' last four games have been washed out

The last four games, however, haven't gone to plan, as they lost in the super over to the Kings XI and were handed a thrashing at the Motera by Virat Kohli and company. Those two defeats have been followed by two washouts, keeping RR win-less for four games now.

The Royals though, unlike Mumbai, do not have major problems concerning them.

Ajinkya Rahane, their opening batsman, is the Orange Cap holder with 323 runs under his belt.

Though the other batsmen haven't exactly played to potential so far, their contributions - even if for one game - helped Rajasthan win the games in which they fired with the bat.

Steve Smith, despite having scored just 172 runs in 7 innings so far, engineered his side to victory with a 53-ball 79 against Mumbai when these sides met at the Motera earlier this season.

Shane Watson, in his very first game of the season, scored a 47-ball 73 to guide his side to an 8-wicket victory over CSK.

However, the Royals' middle-order packed with exuberant Indian talents in Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda and Karun Nair, has yet to fire, and it could be one area for Mumbai to exploit the visitors tomorrow. Pick early wickets and get a stranglehold of the game, is what the hosts will be telling themselves right now.

Coming to the Royals' bowling, Pravin Tambe, the 44-year old leg-spinner, is the leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets to his name.

However, the likes of Tim Southee, James Faulkner, Dhawal Kulkarni and Watson himself, make up a good bowling attack that will fancy its chances under lights at the Wankhede.

Compared to Mumbai, Rajasthan look a well-balanced side, even though they too have a few weaknesses in their arsenal.

Also, having gone win-less in 4 games, there could be a smidgen of apprehension in the Royals' ranks, meaning that MI will be in with a shout if they play to potential.

Possible playing XIs

Mumbai: R Sharma (C), P Patel (WK), L Simmons, U Chand, K Pollard, A Rayudu, Hardik Pandya, H Singh, L Malinga, M McClenaghan and J Suchith.

Rajasthan: S Watson (C), A Rahane, S Smith, D Hooda, K Nair, Stuart Binny, S Samson (WK), J Faulkner, T Southee, P Tambe and D Kulkarni.

Final Thought

Aditya Tare was the hero in the corresponding fixture last season

Mumbai are yet to produce one comprehensive display in the 7 games they have played so far. From the Indians' perspective, it is now or never time for them and it remains to be seen whether they are up for this crunch situation.

Rajasthan are in second place on the table and do not have the kind of pressure their Friday's opponents are under. That could give them the edge over tomorrow's hosts.

This should be an intriguing fixture; but Rajasthan, with a more-balanced look to their side, start as favorites for this encounter at the Wankhede tomorrow.