India vs Bangladesh Match Prediction: Who will win the 2nd Test match?
There are several issues surrounding the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur heading into the second Test between India and Bangladesh. There are concerns about the weather, with rain on the forecast for many of the five days. Light also seems to be an issue, with the city known to have dwindling visibility towards the end of a day's play.
The stadium has alsocome under question for being unsafe, with certain reports suggesting that it does not have the capacity to accommodate a large crowd.
None of those issues compare to those of Bangladesh, who were hammered by 280 runs in the opening Test in Chennai. There are clear woes in the batting department, and the bowlers don't seem to have what it takes to rival the home side's superior contingent led by Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Bangladesh, who have never beaten India in a Test before, are running out of time to turn the tide around. Rohit Sharma and Co. are marching towards another edition of the World Test Championship final, and while the Tigers will not be swayed by that in any way, they will know that they need to come up with a performance worthy of their rise in international cricket over the last few years.
As for India, they will want to put an exclamation mark on their display in the opening test and run out with a 2-0 series scoreline. Whitewashing Bangladesh at home is considered a routine result given how dominant the team have been. Moreover, with important series against New Zealand and Australia coming up, India have no time to waste and need to be at their absolute best at all times.
Needless to say, India are the outright favourites for the second Test. But as Bangladesh showed in Chennai, they have some talent in their ranks, and some smart play on their part could result in a close encounter.
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India have some concerns in the batting department. Virat Kohli doesn't seem to be anywhere close to his best, and KL Rahul looks slightly out of place in the middle order. Both batters will need to come to the party at Kanpur, where run-scoring is bound to be a little tougher than it was in Chennai.
A black-soil pitch is expected to be rolled out at the Green Park Stadium, with the spinners coming in to play more. Both sides could be tempted to play three tweakers, with India potentially bringing in hometown boy Kuldeep Yadav for one of their fast bowlers.
Bangladesh could attempt to offset this by selecting Taijul Islam, who is their second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. However, it is clear that the Tigers are outmanned in all departments, and barring a miracle, they are likely to go down to India in the second Test as well.
Anything can happen in a game of cricket, and Bangladesh clearly have plenty of talent in their ranks. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto played an important knock in the first Test that saw him return to form, while others like Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Hasan Mahmud have been impressive over the last year or so.
That said, though, India are the clear favorites for this encounter and have the advantage in both departments. They can be expected to come out on top with a considerable margin.
Prediction: India to win the 2nd Test vs Bangladesh.