After a break of nearly one month, the Indian cricket team is set to return to action with a two-match Test series against Bangladesh. The first fixture will be played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from 19-23 September as India kick-started a busy Test season ahead.
Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will be playing two Test matches against Bangladesh, a three-match Test series against New Zealand, and the Border Gavaskar Trophy away to Australia hoping to reach yet another final in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC 2023-25) cycle.
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The series opener against Bangladesh will be played at the iconic Chepauk Stadium which hasn't hosted any India Test matches since 2021, when India defeated England by 317 runs. The legendary Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 8 wickets in that match and two days after turning 38, the veteran spinner will be looking to wreak havoc against the Bangla Tigers on his home ground.
India vs Bangladesh, 1st Test Pitch Report:
The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium pitch is known to be batting friendly, and teams batting first have had a very slender advantage, as they’ve won 12 games while chasing teams have won 10 fixtures. The pitch at the Chepauk Stadium will be made from red soil and it is likely to offer good bounce which the pacers will relish. The spinners will also enjoy bowling on this surface as the wickets get dry under the sun, giving a nip to turn the deliveries.
Chennai's wicket is historically known for its trademark spin-friendly conditions, however, in the past two Test matches played at this venue, pacers have enjoyed a better average (24.69) than the tweakers (27.73) who aren't too far behind.
The highest batting total at this venue came in 2016 when India scored 759/7 against England whereas the Indian team also hold the lowest batting total having been dismissed for 83 against England in 1977.
IND vs BAN, 1st Test – Toss Factor
As far as the 34 Test matches that have been played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, on 33 occasions teams that have won the toss have gone onto bat first.
However, the toss factor won't be any advantage as such as teams that have won the toss have won 12 out of the 22 matches that have yielded a result, whereas teams that lost the toss, prevailed 10 times.
The last time when a side won the toss at the Chepauk Stadium and didn't elect to bat was in 1982 when England opted to bowl first and the match ended in a draw.