Bangladesh looking for consistency in first test vs. India

CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh will have to find some consistency over five days in order to secure an elusive test victory against India when they take on their sub-continent rival for the opening game of a two-match series on Wednesday.

Bangladesh haven’t won a test at home since February 2020 and lost all matches abroad apart from a victory against Zimbabwe and a landmark victory in New Zealand.

They came close on several occasions during that period but simply came up short in the crucial moments.

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo said consistency will be key to snapping the losing streak.

“We were very much in the first test in South Africa … we bowled them out twice and chased 270 in the last innings, but got caught out in the last session,” Domingo said. “I think we lost a test series against West Indies in Bangladesh (last year) but they got 395 on day four. We didn’t take our referrals and lost by 15 runs in the second test. A lot of the games have had swings that have been really close.”

Bangladesh beat India 2-1 in the ODI series for its second successive second bilateral series win, but has never defeated India in the test format in 11 matches. It drew two matches, courtesy of rain.

“We want to take the game to the fifth day," Domingo said. "Realistically we have got a chance to beat them if we play really well. We know it’s a tough series, but I expect us to push India really hard in this series.”

The series is the part of ICC World Test Championship in which Bangladesh is in last place with one win and one draw from 10 matches.

India is fourth behind Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka, having won six of their 12 matches.

In the absence of Rohit Sharma, who is out with left thumb injury, KL Rahul will lead the team in the first test with Cheteshwar Pujara as his deputy. Uncapped batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran was named as Rohit’s replacement. Left-arm fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat, who played his only test in 2010, has also been added to the 17-member squad.

Rahul, however, called for an aggressive brand of cricket as India look to bolster its place in the points table.

“The game is played over five days so it’ll be important to break it down into smaller targets and try and achieve that,” Rahul said. “Every session the demand of the team will be different, so we’ll assess that. One thing is for sure, you’ll see a lot of aggressive cricket from our side.”

Domingo said India has the players to take the game away quickly but he doesn’t expect the visitors to play like hyper-aggressive England.

“We have to bowl with discipline and patience," he said. "Stay calm in the pressure moments.”

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