TEST SERIES: BANGLADESH vs INDIA (2 Tests)

[stmookeyj]

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The World #1 has their first series since reaching the "Everest" of Test Cricket in a 2 test series against a side who have a rare distinction of being last start winners.


SCHEDULE
1st TEST: Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, 17-21 January
2nd TEST: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, 24-28 January

Probably the best thing that Bangladesh will see for the series is that they will be hopefully able to grip the ball without the threat of dew that in reality scuppered their chances in the tri-series ODI's. As reported in the ODI series thread the Bangladesh contingent of ICL players are once again available for selection, but only one has made the final squad of 14. It is a little strange though that with Shahriar Nafees returning that there are now 4 opening bats in the squad (Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique the others). Mashrafe Mortaza is still missing with his knee issue so Shakib Al Hasan will once again lead the side, and there's a place in the extended squad for Shafiul Islam who conceded over a run a ball in 2 appearances in the tri-series.

India have named a 16 man squad which for 2 tests seems a little excessive, but of course they apparently have heaps of dough to blow. Test regulars Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman are all in, with Badrinath the batsman to miss out. There is room for rookie quick Sudeep Tyagi, a backup keeper in Dinesh Karthik and 3 spinners (Harbhajan, Ohja, Mishra). They've also added former South African international Eric Symons to the backroom staff as a bowling consultant for this tour and a home series against South Africa.


The weather in Chittagong is expected to be Sunny and around 27 degrees on all days of the test match. Let's hope that the pitch is not exactly the Bruce/Hume/Newell/Stuart/Insert Name Here Highway that other subcontinental pitches are.


1st TEST SQUADS

BANGLADESH: SHAKIB Al Hasan (C), MUSHFIQIR Rahim, ENAMUL Haque Jr, Imrul KAYES, Junaid SIDDIQUE, MAHBUBUL Alam, MAHMUDULLAH, Mohammad ASHRAFUL, RAQIBUL Hasan, RUBEL Hossain, SHAFIUL Islam, SHAHADAT Hossain, SHAHRIAR Nafees, TAMIN Iqbal

INDIA: Mahendra Singh DHONI (C), Virender SEHWAG, Rahul DRAVID, Gautam GHAMBIR, HARBHAJAN Singh, Dinesh KARTHIK, ZAHEER Khan, Vangipurappu Venkata Sai LAXMAN, Amit MISHRA, Pragyan OHJA, Ishant SHARMA, Shanthakuraran SREESANTH, Sachin Ramesh TENDULKAR, Sudeep TYAGI, Murali VIJAY, YUVRAJ Singh

Cannot confirm the men in white but judging from the ODI series Ian Gould and Simon Taufel may be 2 of the 3 and Andy Pycroft the Match Referee.


If you like your subcontinental run fests, then for this series tune into

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/141/l_2800f95972c94c69823803d3306dc307.png. Coverage starts at 3PM EST but check locals and EPG's to make sure.

[Russian]

Umpires are Billy Bowden and Marais Erasmus (on debut). Third umpire's a local so I guess that means Bangladesh are copying India and there's no referrals.

[Santana]

Sehwag's pregame comments were interesting I must say.

"Bangladesh are an ordinary side. They can't beat India because they can't take 20 wickets."

Tell us what you really think Sehwag FFS.

[Spikey]

Banga fighting back after a poor start. 3/87 currently, a collaspe of 3/6.

[Spikey]

Laxman gone now too. 4/108 Yuvraj in with Sachin.

Btw both Dhoni and Harbhajan are out.

[StFly]

Have a soft spot for the Bangladeshi's, and as we all know everyone loves an underdog just they've always relied on far too few to warrant much notice. personally hoping they topple India, because hey, it's India, and plus, Sehwag and humble pie go oh so well together.

[Spikey]

6 down! Up to Sachin now!

[Jazzed]

Hopefully we can keep this up..was worried that with no Mortaza or Nazmul we'd get owned. Still might lol.

[stmookeyj]

8/209, Sachin stil there. 4 each for Shakib and Shahadat. Could have been worse for the World #1 if Imrul Kayes didn't drop Tendulkar on 16.

[krisholio14]

I wonder if the Bangers can hang on with the bat.

[Port_Adelaide]

Sachin's also gone past 13,000 test runs. Top effort:thumbsu:

[DaRick]

Sachin's also gone past 13,000 test runs. Top effort:thumbsu:

Could this match be a foreshadowing of what post-Sachin India's going to be like?

If they rely on him to keep their head above water against an 'ordinary' Bangladesh side, then what are they going to do against better sides once he retires?

[DaRick]

Hopefully we can keep this up..was worried that with no Mortaza or Nazmul we'd get owned. Still might lol.

I feel that Shakib is BAN's best player at this stage.

[DeadlyAkkuret]

India are in deep poo when Sachin retires, not to mention a couple of their other better batsmen.

Go Bangers!:thumbsu:

[Cooldude]

Good to see Sachin piling on the runs in the past 24 months or so. He's finally gotten used to his new game since his elbow problems. He had to reassess his strengths and scoring areas, nowadays he knows he can't drive straight down mid on/off or even through cover like he used to anymore. So he is concentrating on more leg side shots square of the wicket. It's working well for him

[Belnakor]

Sanchin gets another cheap hundred against Bangas. Him getting a ton says less about SRT and more about how piss weak the indian batting can be some days.

[Spikey]

Good first session for Banga. Dismissed India without too much fuss and got to lunch without any wickets falling. Tamim Iqbal off to a flying start.

[Cap]

Go Bangas!!!

[Ron]

How many times in test cricket would two bowlers have taken 5 for in an innings?

Wouldn't be many i reckon.

Really hoping Bangers can get 400+ here. Shove it up Sehwag's arrogant arse.

[Ron]

Actually just had a look and it has happened more times than i thought it would have

http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/282897.html

[DT_fanatic]

Sanchin gets another cheap hundred against Bangas. Him getting a ton says less about SRT and more about how piss weak the indian batting can be some days.

Bet you're not watching are you?

I love how people are quick to jump on the Indians after one innings of some clearly complacent performances. Because y'know, nobody remembers how close Australia came to losing to the same country, at a stage when they were worse than they are now, about 4 years ago :D

And yeah...Kohli, Raina, Sharma, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni for the next 6-7 years. We're gonna struggle alright!

[danielnajdek]

Wickets starting to tumble now :(

[Spikey]

bad light ftw!

[stmookeyj]

As long as the Premier League is in existence, then India will always be strong.


As for the match, it's time for Ashraful to play one of those big knocks that he can play.

[Jazzed]

I feel that Shakib is BAN's best player at this stage.

No doubt, however Shahadat and Rubel Hossain are both pretty expensive . They're genuine 140km/h+ bowlers though.
Hoping we can at least match India's first innings.

[DaRick]

Bet you're not watching are you?

And yeah...Kohli, Raina, Sharma, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni for the next 6-7 years. We're gonna struggle alright!

Imagine if I made this post...

Lee, Clark, MacGill, Hilfenhaus, Siddle, Johnson, Bollinger for the next few years at least. We're gonna struggle alright!...after McGrath and Warne took their final bow. I'd be absolutely castigated.

Put simply, if you think that any of those above batsman (talented though they may be) are going to have careers as good as Dravid or Tendulkar's in particular, then you are deluded. Hell, even batsmen like VVS Laxman are relatively uncommon in India.

Sehwag also relies a lot on hand-eye coordination. Without that and with his non-existent footwork, he's gonna be far less effective. He has looked really, really good lately however, as has Gambhir (despite him mostly profiting from very flat decks). Dhoni is a decent batsman, but no great. Don't forget that Khan will probably be creakier by the time the terrific trio retires.

India are in danger of going our way - the sooner they realise that, the better.

[Cousin Jed]

I see the most important thing to come out of this match has been overlooked:

Shahriar Nafees walks in, he has a ponytail these days

[Spikey]

3 early wickets put India in a great position, Banga being 6/98. However Mahmudullah has continued his good OD form and with keeper Rahim has got them to over 170, still 6 wickets down.

[krisholio14]

Mushfiqur out, 7/206.

[krisholio14]

Mamudullah still going, Bangas close on 8/228 at tea.

[dumb]

chance of a lead but with not much to come it will be a purely psychological thing. you wouldn't bet on india fluffing their second innings (though one can hope).

9 down as i type.

[Spikey]

India lead by, 1 run.

[krisholio14]

Bangas going for plenty early.

[davey_magik]

Bet you're not watching are you?

I love how people are quick to jump on the Indians after one innings of some clearly complacent performances. Because y'know, nobody remembers how close Australia came to losing to the same country, at a stage when they were worse than they are now, about 4 years ago :D

And yeah...Kohli, Raina, Sharma, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni for the next 6-7 years. We're gonna struggle alright!

Sehwag and Dhoni I'll give you, Gambhir has done very well so far but I'll wait to see how he goes in England, South Africa and Australia.

Kohli looks alright but is unproven at Test level, as is Raina. Sharma I think is an enormous talent but is also unproven. Yuvraj is a flat track bully.

India are definitely the number one team in the world currently but do not just assume players who aren't in the Test team currently will come into the team and do as well as their predecessors. It never works that way.

[Spikey]

Gambhir tons up. India's lead is over 300. Banga should still at least get a draw. Given the conditions and all.

[krisholio14]

Gambhir tons up. India's lead is over 300. Banga should still at least get a draw. Given the conditions and all.

Bangers will get rolled convincingly from here.

[Cousin Jed]

Gambhir tons up. India's lead is over 300. Banga should still at least get a draw. Given the conditions and all.

Optimism.

Misplaced optimism. Unless the fog rolls in permanently.

Or wonderful sarcasm......

[Spikey]

Optimism.


Yeah I should know better than to expect Banga to least more than 60 overs in the 2nd innings of a test :(

[krisholio14]

Yeah I should know better than to expect Banga to least more than 60 overs in the 2nd innings of a test :(

5/136 at lunch.

They basically need Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mamudullah to bat this out.

[Spikey]

Wish Bangladesh would start performing in both innings' of a test...:(

[krisholio14]

Mushfiqur a ton, but the Bangers still well beaten in the end.

Needed to make a better fist of it in their first innings with the bat.

[Ferris_rules]

Banga lost the Test and the initiative IMO when they failed to nail the Indians in the 1st Innings. They got a reprieve when they batted well for the first wicket then threw it all away when they were bowled out for last than India's first innings. This albeit one run was a psychological blow.

Banga then could have have got some early wickets to put pressure on India but failed.

India only really needed about 300 runs to be safe and once they set Banga a country record for the most runs in the second innings for them it was game over.

Not a fan of what Sehwag said about Banga being crap PUBLICALLY.

MOM was easy it was always going to be Sachin bar a Bang miracle. His century saved India in this match.

Geez Banga need a Sachin or a Warne to be unearth in their side to give them a few morale and confidence boosting and much needed wins.

[Cousin Jed]

Bangladesh 5/70 including two gloved down the leg side and a stumping on the first morning...

[Spikey]

Bangladesh 5/70 including two gloved down the leg side and a stumping on the first morning...

They had their good match, shit Bangladesh are playing now...

Although their two best batsmen are in now, with their next best in next...

[Ferris_rules]

Bangladesh 5/70 including two gloved down the leg side and a stumping on the first morning...

are you watching this on the net or Setanta????

[Cousin Jed]

I'd rather poke my eyes out than watch a Bangladesh test.

Cricinfo scorecard.

[Cousin Jed]

8/206

Scoring at a lively 3.5 RPO.

[dumb]

mahmudullah stranded on 96 no. time for a promotion up the order.

[Spikey]

Harbhajan is a dick, Mahmadullah is amazing.

[skipper kelly]

Bradman survives.

[trevorbyers]

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[krisholio14]

Tamim Iqbal going along very nicely at the moment on 71 no.

He and Junaid have the score at 1/105, needing another 206 to make the Indians bat again.

[Spikey]

Tamim tons up

[Cotchin 9]

Tamim Iqbal, 125 off 127, hopefully he romps to a massive score.

[krisholio14]

Bangers only 118 behind now.

Geez if they could find a way to set the Indians 200 to chase it would be interesting considering the Indians will be two men down.

[krisholio14]

Tamim dropped on 139 by Tendulkar, and he's hurt himself too.

[Spikey]

Yuvraj and ?

Heard the pitch is getting flatter and flatter. Would need to get rid of Gambhir & Sehwag quickly.

[krisholio14]

Yuvraj and ?

Heard the pitch is getting flatter and flatter. Would need to get rid of Gambhir & Sehwag quickly.

Dravid has a broken jaw.

[DaRick]

Bangladesh show some more of their frustratingly sporadic brilliance.

[Spikey]

Oh yeah :o

[krisholio14]

Tendulkar apparently iffy at this point also.

[Spikey]

Tendulkar apparently iffy at this point also.

With SA coming out soon they might not wanna risk it...

Junaid brings up his 50. Great innings too. Could have easily followed Tamim's lead and been very attacking but he hasn't.

[krisholio14]

Pity the Bangers couldn't bet like this in the first innings of the first test.

[Spikey]

Pity they can't turn up for both innings of a test...

[krisholio14]

Excellent 150 by Tamim :thumbsu:

[Cousin Jed]

Pity they can't turn up for either innings of a test quite a bit of the time...


Fixed

[Spikey]

Record partnership for them. I'll have to check statsguru, but this would have to be close to the highest individual score by a Bangladeshi too.

edit Ashraful with 158, against India.

[Spikey]

And to keep up with the record theme, Imrul Kayes would have to be close to the worst opener ever in test cricket. Once again I'm off to statsguru...

[krisholio14]

Junaid out to Zaheer for 55 - 2-219

[Spikey]

And to keep up with the record theme, Imrul Kayes would have to be close to the worst opener ever in test cricket. Once again I'm off to statsguru...

Yep. (http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?batting_positionmax1=2;batting_positionval1=batti ng_position;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=runs;orderbyad=r everse;qualmin1=15;qualval1=innings;template=results;type=ba tting)

[krisholio14]

Zaheer removes Tamim after a great knock, Bangers now 3 down.

[DeadlyAkkuret]

The Bangers really have that 'off to a flyer then throw it all away' tactic down pat don't they.

[Cotchin 9]

151 would have to go close to the highest Test score by a Bangladeshi bat?

[krisholio14]

151 would have to go close to the highest Test score by a Bangladeshi bat?

If you'd looked a couple of posts prior to yours you would have seen that it is Mohammad Ashraful with 158.

Now as far as this test goes, they now need Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mamudullah to put on some decent runs between them.

[Spikey]

The Bangers really have that 'off to a flyer then throw it all away' tactic down pat don't they.

Not really. They have the "2/for **** all" tactic down pat though.

Will be interesting to see how Mamudullah and Mushfiqur perform with, for a change, runs on the board

[Cotchin 9]

If you'd looked a couple of posts prior to yours you would have seen that it is Mohammad Ashraful with 158.

Now as far as this test goes, they now need Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mamudullah to put on some decent runs between them.

That's a tad embarrassing :o

[krisholio14]

Shakib just out, and though the Indians will haveto bat again, they look on the cusp of dispensing yet another thumping. 6-301, 10 more runs needed.

[Spikey]

Terrific implosion by the middle-order....

[krisholio14]

Terrific implosion by the middle-order....

Bangers trying to make me look silly.

Zaheer 3 wickets in four balls, on a hat trick, 3 runs to get still, 9 down.

[krisholio14]

As I typed that, Mushfiqur takes them past the target on the last ball before lunch.

[Cap]

people can bag Bangladesh as much as they want, but they have team of 20-25yr olds competing with teams much older and more experienced.

They will come good...eventually