While India's victory in the Kanpur ndi was nothing short of a superhuman effort after two and half days of play were lost due to rain, the result of the series against Bangladesh will come as a suprise to anyone. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the two-match series by a 2-0 margin after victories by margins of 280 runs and seven wickets.
Through the win, India have extended their world record streak with their 18th consecutive series win at home. The two-time World Test Championship (WTC) finalist have won each series they have played on home soil since their shock defeat to England in 2012 under MS Dhoni's captaincy.
India-Bangladesh Series Creates History
India and Bangladesh created history by achieving a rare first despite the expected result going in favor of the hosts. This is the first-ever series (mininum two matches) on Indian soil in which the team winning the toss has decided to bowl first in every match.
Infact, a total of 293 matches by played on Indian soil (including two non-Indian games hosted by Afghanistan) but only 24 times a team has won the toss and chose to bowl first. The first-ever Test match in India took place in 1933 when England visited the country.
Matches In WhichTeam Won TossAnd Bowl First In Test Matches In India
1. India v Pakistan, Eden Gardens, 12 Dec 1952
2. India v Australia, Eden Gardens, 2 Nov 1956
3. India v England, Kanpur, 15 Feb 1964
4. India v Australia, Eden Gardens, 17 Oct 1964
5. India v Australia, Eden Gardens, 12 Dec 1969
6. India v West Indies, Bengaluru, 22 Nov 1974
7. India v West Indies, Wankhede, 1 Dec 1978
8. India v England, Chennai, 13 Jan 1982
9. India v Pakistan, Jalandhar, 24 Sep 1983
10. India v West Indies, Ahmedabad, 12 Nov 1983
11. India v Pakistan, Eden Gardens, 11 Feb 1987
12. India v Sri Lanka, Mohali, 19 Nov 1997
13. India v Sri Lanka, Wankhede, 3 Dec 1997
14. India v New Zealand, Mohali, 10 Oct 1999
15. India v Australia, Wankhede, 27 Feb 2001
16. India v England, Mohali, 3 Dec 2001
17. India v Pakistan, Mohali, 8 Mar 2005
18. India v England, Wankhede, 18 Mar 2006
19. India v West Indies, Wankhede, 14 Nov 2013
20. India v South Africa, Bengaluru, 14 Nov 2015
21. India v Sri Lanka, Eden Gardens, 16 Nov 2017
22. Afghanistan v West Indies, Lucknow, 27 Nov 2019
23. India v Bangladesh, Chennai, 19 Sep 2024
24. India v Bangladesh, Kanpur, 27 Sep 2024
Why Is It Rare For Teams To Win Toss And Chose to Bowl First In India?
The only other series on Indian soil in which a team decided to bowl first after winning the toss in more than one match was when India hosted Sri Lanka in 1997 for three Test matches. The first and third Tests of that series had seen the team winning the toss field first. However, the second test saw India win the toss and bat first in a rain-hit clash in Kanpur.
The most remarkable thing about the India-Bangladesh series is that none of the most frequent venues in which teams have won the toss and bowled first on Indian soil in Test matches hosted a match. Kolkata's Eden Gardens (6), Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium (5), and Mohali's PCA Stadium (5) are the stadiums have seen the most instance of a team winning the toss and fielding first in a Test match in India but none of those three grounds hosted a match in this series.
This series was only the second instance of a team winning the toss and chosing to bowl first in a Test match at both Chennai and Kanpur in history.
For those unversed, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first in the series opener while the coin fell in Rohit Sharma's favour in Kanpur, who fielded first with a rain threat looming.