India vs Bangladesh Match Prediction: Who will win the 1st Test match?
The last time India faced Bangladesh in a Test, they needed Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin to bail them out of a tricky spot in the fourth innings in Mirpur. The visitors eventually got over the line with three wickets to spare, but not before Mehidy Hasan Miraz's five-fer threatened to make the two-match series all square.
Before that meeting, the last four matches between India and Bangladesh had been heavily one-sided. Two were innings victories in favor of the two-time World Test Championship finalists, and two others were by margins of over 185 runs.
That doesn't matter much now, though, with the Tigers having found some new teeth in the longest format. Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has expressed complete faith in his side, who experienced some success against Pakistan and have ridden on the back of Mehidy's all-round showings to pull their weight against the more fancied teams.
Heading into the first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, India will know they are up against a strong opposition who will spoil their party if they aren't at their best. A spot in the next edition of the WTC final is on the line, and while Rohit Sharma and Co. are the clear favorites to make it along with Australia, a slip-up or two could prove costly.
Both teams have solid spin attacks and possess some might in their respective batting units. And while India are certainly the heavy favorites to complete a clean sweep over the visitors, Bangladesh won't go down without a fight.
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Bangladesh have plenty of talent in their ranks. Mushfiqur Rahim is an excellent player of spin, and Shakib Al Hasan has been around long enough to find a way to succeed even though he hasn't been at his world-beating best lately. Mehidy has been Bangladesh's star man with both bat and ball, and that fact should give the senior men in the side some confidence.
Nahid Rana's express pace and uncomfortable lengths could be a big asset for Bangladesh. From the other end, Taskin Ahmed's seam movement and control are bound to ask a few questions of Rohit, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill.
Despite that, however, India are simply too strong at home. The top three have been among the runs, and Rishabh Pant's return significantly improves the middle order. It seems as though KL Rahul will pip Sarfaraz Khan to a spot in the side, and little needs to be said about the kind of depth and dominance India's spin trio will bring.
Even if Bangladesh manage to dismiss India's batters cheaply and counter their deadly spinners, the menacing presence of Jasprit Bumrah will tilt the scales in the home side's favor by a fair margin. If Bumrah can pick up a few scalps early, the Bangladesh middle order will likely have too much to do.
Bangladesh's spinners are talented bowlers, and they have a fair few solid batters too. While it would be silly to rule out their chances, India are almost always a different beast at home and should be able to get over the line.
Prediction: India to win the 1st Test vs Bangladesh.