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.

Can Virat Kohli Lead Team India To Overseas Success?

Virat Kohli will hope to overcome India's troubles in overseas conditions

Virat Kohli is just 9 days away from assuming duties as Team India's permanent Test captain when India visits Bangladesh for the 1-off Test match that is to be played at the Khan Shaheb Osmani Ali Stadium in Fatullah.

MS Dhoni, it has to be said, led Team India wonderfully in the Test match arena while he was the skipper not so long ago.

But, he wasn't able to deliver overseas Test wins for the national side that lost an appalling 15 - won 1 and drew 5 - of the 21 Tests played between the tour of England in 2011 and the recent Tour of Australia, which concluded just before the 2015 Cricket World Cup kicked off.

In Kohli, India has an aggressive skipper who is probably the best batsman in the side, too, and the nation will be hoping for overseas success under his captaincy.

The task, however, is going to be greater than climbing the Mount Everest, probably, and Kohli, who has already captained India in a couple of Tests, will be well aware of that.

India put up stubborn resistance in the Tests captained by Kohli, against Australia, though they failed to overcome the mistakes that have led to their downfall in overseas conditions since the beginning of this decade.

The tour of Bangladesh, and playing in a 1-off Test match, will definitely not be the ideal platform to assess India's capability of winning Tests away from the sub-continent, but there will be implications to come out from the way Kohli leads the side and the sort of combination he goes in with.

In this article, we will be asking, and then answering, three questions that Kohli needs to address, at the very least, if he is to lead India to glory in overseas Tests.

Read on...

Indian squad for the solitary Test in Bangladesh: Kohli (C), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Aaron, Karn Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.

Does Kohli go in with a 5-man bowling attack?

Sourav Ganguly, while he captained India, began the trend of playing just four bowlers and loading the side with 6 batsmen and a proper wicket-keeper, even in the Test match arena; such a combination did pay dividends during the first half of the last decade, when India scripted memorable wins in Headingley and Adelaide Oval and proved a tough nut to crack for England and Australia.

Rahul Dravid, when he took over from Ganguly, followed the same blueprint and tasted decent enough success, winning against South Africa in Johannesburg and then leading India to a 1-0 Test series win against England in England, their first in the country since 1986, in 2007.

Dhoni wasn't any different in his approach, either. During India's tour of England last year, however, India's former Test skipper did play 3 fast bowlers and two out-and-out all-rounders - Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny - and engineered India's first overseas Test win of the decade, at Lord's.

Coming to Kohli and looking to the future, I strongly believe that the 26-year old captain has to play 5 genuine bowlers in overseas Test matches at least.

At home and in the sub-continent, you probably won't have to play a third seamer and instead, go in with 2 pacers and 2 spinners.

Virat has to play 5 bowlers to taste overseas success

When you tour countries like South Africa, New Zealand and, needless to say, Australia and England, it is imperative that you go hunting for 20 wickets and therefore, reinforce your bowling attack.

That aspect of Kohli's captaincy is going to be intriguing to witness, as he is an aggressive skipper and 'wants' to win cricket matches.

He shouldn't be the skipper who is inclined to strengthen the batting lineup and play to his side's strength. A change in trend is required, and I hope Kohli thinks that way, too.

In U Yadav, B Kumar, I Sharma and Mohammed Shami, India has a good pace bowling attack that needs to be utilized to its fullest potential.

I have slotted U Yadav ahead of the other three, because I believe he is going to be the spearhead to this attack; he is versatile (can bowl with the new, as well as the old ball), genuinely quick and a wicket-taker, too.

Let us not forget Aaron, who bowled well in patches during India's last two overseas tours of England and Australia; consistency in the line and length of attack, is something he needs to get better at, but it is paramount that Kohli and the Indian think tank believe in what Aaron can do.

Time has come for India and Kohli, most importantly, to bank on their fast bowlers to deliver success for the nation in overseas conditions.

Can Kohli unearth a genuine all-rounder at the Test level?

While the 5-bowler strategy is not unthinkable anymore, the search for a genuine all-rounder in the Indian Test setup seems set to continue.

Dhoni's search for a genuine all-rounder hasn't stopped, given that he is still the Indian ODI skipper, but the 33-year old has been unsuccessful in his venture thus far.

In Jadeja and Stuart Binny, he sought to nurture a genuine all-rounder, but the Saurashtra left-arm spinner has been a major disappointment and Binny hasn't had too many opportunities to prove himself.

It will once again be interesting to see what Kohli makes of this scenario, and whether he, like Dhoni, is keen on unearthing an all-rounder who will significantly bolster the Indian Test side.

The Ranji circuit doesn't have too many all-rounders to speak of, at this point in time, making the task of unearthing one that much harder.

Kohli, though, has a couple of options: he can keep his faith in Binny, at least when India travel outside the sub-continent, and utilize his handy batting, as well bowling skills; secondly, Bhuvneshwar, in whatever we have seen of him during his 12-match Test career so far, can be molded into a good bowling all-rounder.

Bhuvneshwar could be nurtured into a bowling all-rounder

Bhuvneshwar has a few shortcomings in his bowling repertoire, but his batting skills do make him a possibility to become an all-rounder for India in the next couple of years, if mentored and used astutely.

What it will do is give Kohli the option of playing Aaron, instead of a proper batsman, when India travel overseas.

Overcome the overwhelming propensity to capitulate as a batting unit

Kohli has little control over this aspect, but if he is to lead India to glory in overseas conditions, the Delhi batsman has to address it.

India were in a sumptuous position against Australia in the 1st Test at Adelaide last December, when they needed 159 runs with 8 wickets in hand ahead of the last session of the match.

The ball was turning, reverse-swinging and Nathan Lyon was having an amazing match with the ball. 37 overs needed to be bowled and India, in pursuit of 364, got themselves to a position they would have wanted to be.

Come the last session and the duo of Vijay and Kohli successfully negotiated the first 8 overs, driving India to 242-2 and needing 122 more runs to win from the remaining 29 overs.

India were in the driver's seat, and the Australian bowlers looked seldom threatening to deliver 8 wicket-taking deliveries.

However, the never-in-doubt batting capitulation ensued thereafter; with India folding up for 315 and going onto lose the Test by 48 runs.

You could applaud India and Kohli, especially, for the positive attitude they exuded on the final day, but the eventuality wasn't unusual for anyone who has been following Indian cricket vividly.

The Indian batting lineup has to stop capitulating in overseas conditions

Such vulnerability has to be stemmed in order for India to taste success. Kohli though, being a pure batsman, could have a better say in the batting side of things than what Dhoni did while batting in that No.6 or No.7 positions.

Summary

It is going to be an exciting period, starting with the Test in Bangladesh, in the Indian cricket with Kohli as the captain of the Test team.

He will be bringing aggression, vigor and ruthlessness mentality to the Indian Test side. But in order for him to deliver success in overseas conditions, he and his team has to answer the three questions above in the best way possible.

Over to you, Kohli.