Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss in the first Test against Team India in Chennai at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium and elected to bowl first. It was only the second time in 35 Test matches at the Chepauk Stadium that a team elected to bowl after winning the toss since England opted to do the same in 1982.
"I'll like to bowl first. There's moisture on the wicket and we want to make use of it. Pitch looks hard and there's moisture. The first session will be very good for the seamers," said Shanto after winning the toss.
The plan was clear for Bangladesh who come into the two-match Test series after inflicting a clean sweep on Pakistan, and were hoping to upset the hosts. With the damp nature of the wicket, Dinesh Karthik hinted that the first hour of play on Thursday will be difficult for the Indian batters.
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Nicknamed the 'weatherman' over his tendency to provide timely weather updates, DK, who had announced his retirement from all formats of cricket earlier this year wrote on X that the pitch will provide plenty of assistance to the Bangladeshi bowling lineup and the Indian side will have to wary of that threat.
"It's going to be a challenging first hour for team India. Slightly damp hence seam movement will be there," wrote Karthik on X.
It's going to be a challenging first hour for team India Slightly damp hence seam movement will be there #INDvBAN#CricketTwitter
— DK (@DineshKarthik) September 19, 2024
While the Indian captain Rohit Sharma went with a side including three pacers and two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Aakash Deep and Mohammed Siraj made up the seam attack.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Shanto also opted to go with three pacers, as well as the two very experienced spin options of Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
India's playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.
Bangladesh's playing XI: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.