India's march towards the World Test Championship final could hit a roadblock with bad weather expected on the opening days of the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.
Rohit Sharma's team fought back from a precarious position on the opening day of the first Test in Chennai, recovering from 144-6 to post 376 and ultimately storming to a 280-run victory.
The win reinforced India's position at the top of the WTC table, taking their tally to 71.6 percentage points won. India's remaining Test fixtures in the current cycle include a three-match series at home against New Zealand and a five-Test tour of Australia.
The way the WTC table is structured, teams are ranked according to the percentage of the total available points won. A Test win is worth 12 points and a draw earns four points. That means every Test is significant and a washout can impact the chances of any team hoping to make it to the final at Lord's in June next year when the top two sides in the table will face off.
With that in mind, the forecast for this week is not encouraging in Kanpur where the second Test begins on Friday. There is an 80 per cent chance of rain on the first three days of the match, making an outright result difficult.
However, the weather could also add more spice to the pitch and allow for a result in whatever time is available in the match. The first Test in Chennai was also played under the threat of rain but was completed.
While India relied on their pace attack on a sporting surface in Chennai, they will be inclined to include an additional spinner as the black soil pitch in Kanpur is likely to get lower and slower.
India can strengthen their spin bowling by bringing in either of the two left-arm spinners – Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav. Patel has a great record in home Tests and is in better batting form than many top-order batsmen, so should get the nod.
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India's Ravichandran Ashwin acknowledges the crowd after picking up his fifth wicket on Day 4 of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai on Sunday, September 22, 2024. AP -
Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud is bowled by Ravindra Jadeja. AFP -
India captain Rohit Sharma, centre, Virat Kohl celebrate after winning the first Test by 280 runs. AP -
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto scored a valiant fifty. AP -
India's Ravindra Jadeja, centre, celebrates after taking the wicket of Bangladesh's Litton Das. AFP -
Bangladesh's Litton Das was dismissed cheaply on Sunday. AFP
If India don't get the result they desire in Kanpur, it will add pressure on them to dominate New Zealand in their next home series ahead of the five-Test tour of Australia where any result is possible and which is likely to decide the Lord's finalists.
The home team will have another reason to hope for clear weather in the second Test. Captain Rohit Sharma and star batsman Virat Kohli failed in both innings in the opening Test and need to get into the groove quickly.
Both players decided against playing first-class matches before the Bangladesh Tests and looked underprepared, while many of their teammates who had played red-ball matches recently shone.
Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Ravichandran Ashwin all scored centuries while Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had a good match with the ball.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, will be hoping the Kanpur surface remains sluggish as that makes their spin bowling as lethal as that of India. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan are masters of low and slow pitches and the two spinners can keep India's batters quiet.
India's batting has fared miserably against quality spin on helpful surfaces, as was seen during the recent ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka. That makes it an even contest.
