A chance to move forward for Bangladesh
Sunday, 17 January 2010
It's reality-check time for Bangladesh. This is the first time they will be playing Tests after their historic series win against a replacement West Indies side last July. Opinions were divided on whether to see that success as a big step forward for Bangladesh cricket, the opposition notwithstanding, according to website cricinfo.
While they couldn't control the murmured asterisks that were being put next to the most glorious moment of their young cricket life, Bangladesh now have it in their control to put up a tough, competitive show against the No. 1 side in the world.
In a harsh sort of way - such is the nature of the beast - Bangladesh will add more credibility to their West Indies success by pushing India in this series. They know if they are rolled over without a contest, time will not be wasted in reminding them of the pedigree of the team they beat in the Caribbean.
Their opponents, who are without their captain MS Dhoni, out due to a back strain, know better than to take them lightly, not least because of the 2007 World Cup debacle which they can never forget. What is less documented, however, is how immediately after that exit India struggled to put Bangladesh out in their last, albeit rain-affected, Chittagong Test. Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Raqibul Hasan, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 9 Enamul Haque jnr, 10 Shahadat Hossain, 11 Rubel Hossain.
India: 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8, Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Sreesanth 12th man Ishant Sharma.
While they couldn't control the murmured asterisks that were being put next to the most glorious moment of their young cricket life, Bangladesh now have it in their control to put up a tough, competitive show against the No. 1 side in the world.
In a harsh sort of way - such is the nature of the beast - Bangladesh will add more credibility to their West Indies success by pushing India in this series. They know if they are rolled over without a contest, time will not be wasted in reminding them of the pedigree of the team they beat in the Caribbean.
Their opponents, who are without their captain MS Dhoni, out due to a back strain, know better than to take them lightly, not least because of the 2007 World Cup debacle which they can never forget. What is less documented, however, is how immediately after that exit India struggled to put Bangladesh out in their last, albeit rain-affected, Chittagong Test. Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Raqibul Hasan, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 9 Enamul Haque jnr, 10 Shahadat Hossain, 11 Rubel Hossain.
India: 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8, Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Sreesanth 12th man Ishant Sharma.