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- Akash Deep's early breakthrough gave India the edge, dismissing Zakir Hasan for a duck.
- Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl, with a one-hour delay due to wet outfield.
- India remains undefeated at Green Park for 41 years.
- Ravindra Jadeja is on the cusp of a significant career milestone.
- Bangladesh is still seeking their first-ever Test win against India.
Pacer Akash Deep set the tempo for India by removing two quick wickets as his side took early control of the second Test against Bangladesh at Green Park, Kanpur, on Friday. India, having won the toss, opted to bowl first, and Deep immediately impacted from the first over in which he sent opener Zakir Hasan back without scoring off 24 balls and staring at the match starting with the introduction of the fast bowler in the ninth over as captain Rohit Sharma had delayed play for an hour because of the wet outfield resulting from overnight rain.
- Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj shared the new ball, and they ensured things were kept tight as the former bowled three consecutive maiden overs.
- Ravichandran Ashwin was brought into the attack in the eighth over to replace Siraj and replaced Bumrah in the latter half.
Toss Delay Due to Wet Outfield
- The match got delayed by an hour although there were rain-soaked conditions, despite the ground's cover. India decided not to tinker with the line-up that won that one-dayer so convincingly in Chennai. The black soil in Kanpur is unorthodox in its bounce, as opposed to the red soil in Chennai which gave consistent bounce and carry.
- India will probably continue its dominance at home with a three-man pace attack, that of Bumrah, Siraj, and Deep supported by spinners Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The weather forecast does not seem too inviting - patchy rain is expected to mar the first three days of play.
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Stretch of Unbeaten Series in Home Continent
- It will be looking to stretch an unbeaten run in a home series to 18 if India wins in Kanpur. It has pretty much turned out to be the story of fortunes for both the teams in this game between India and West Indies.
- For one thing, in Chennai Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could not get runs, while on the other hand, the contributions from Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ashwin, and Jadeja contributed towards an otherwise obvious team victory.
- Ashwin's century and Jadeja's 86 in Chennai after India had been jolted to a worrying start. Then strictly, Gill's and Pant's centuries in the second innings will see to it that India stays in control.
Pitch Conditions at Green Park, Kanpur
The Kanpur track, known for slowing down with every passing match, won't provide much turn, but the unpredictable bounce will question the batsmen from both teams. India could introduce an extra spinner by pushing either Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav into the main squad in place of a seamer, given this wicket responds to spin.
Historically, Green Park has been a ground India has played on from a comfortable vantage position. They haven't lost any Test match here in 41 years. Ashwin, with 16 wickets at the venue, will try to surpass Kapil Dev's tally of 25 wickets. It is his second Test in Kanpur and his last here was way back in 2021 when he hardly managed 27 runs between the two innings.
Troubled Bangladesh and their Key Players
- Bangladesh were unable to defend their tail in Chennai, where quality seam and spin bowling did the job. Shakib Al Hasan's fitness after injury will add uncertainty to their task in Kanpur. In his absence, off-spinner Nayeem Hasan can assume the role.
- Even if Shakib plays, Bangladesh might like to add left-arm spinner Taijul Islam for more bowling resources.
Bangladesh never won a Test against India and the record seems to say that they never will. Of the 14 matches played between the two, India has won 12 while there have been two draws. That is where the visitors will face a whole lot of work to challenge India's domination.
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Ravindra Jadeja nears milestone
Ravindra Jadeja is now on the brink of making history. He completed his 73rd Test yesterday, thanks to his being a part of the second and third Tests in Rajkot, with 299 wickets and 3,122 runs in just 73 Test matches played thus far; he would then join the ranks of Ian Botham of England, who reached the milestone of 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in just 72 games.
With inputs from agencies
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