India vs. Bangladesh Test: Home side backed to win series opener

India have been backed to comfortably see off Bangladesh in the pair’s upcoming Test series. The nations will come together for two Tests, the first coming at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, with Kolkata’s Eden Gardens hosting the second.

That meeting will be the first day-night Test hosted by India, but both countries will be firmly focused on getting a result in the opening encounter.

The visitors will certainly be up against it when the action starts on November 14th. They currently sit ninth in the Test Team rankings, and take on the top side in world cricket.

India are currently strong favourites at 1/9 to win the first Test, with Bangladesh available at 14/1. A draw is currently 8/1.

The home side will be looking to make it successive victories over Bangladesh, having beaten their visitors 2-1 in their recent T20 series.

India’s number one spot is under no real danger at this moment in time, and they’ll be sitting further ahead of the pack should they come out victorious against Bangladesh on home soil.

As if the team rankings weren’t worrying enough for Bangladesh, the player rankings don’t favour them any better.

Their hosts have four players in the top ten Test Batting rankings, with Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma in second, fourth, fifth and tenth respectively.

India also boast two players – Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin – in the Test Bowling top ten compared to zero from Bangladesh.

The Test All-Rounder rankings also comprises two Indian stars, with Ravindra Jajeda and Ashwin currently sitting in second and sixth respectively.

The away side’s only saving grace is Shakib Al Hasan’s presence in the top ten Test All-Rounder rankings. But he has since been banned by the International Cricket Council after breaching their anti-corruption code. 

The captain accepted three charges of failing to disclose approaches to engage in corrupt conduct in 2018.

The captain’s armband for the upcoming tests has therefore been passed to Mominul Haque. He has the highest average among his country’s batsmen, and is currently 10/3 to be top run scorer for the visitors.

Shadman Islam and Imrul Kayes are both currently 7/2 to top score for Bangladesh. And both Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim are both available at 4/1.

His counterpart Virat Kohli will, however, have something to say about that. The almost-unstoppable is just 2/1 to top score for the hosts in Indore.

Others looking to do some damage with the bat include Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal. The former is currently 10/3 to be India’s top run scorer, with the latter 4/1.

Other nations will also come together this month in the Test format as they look to climb the world rankings. New Zealand host England and Australia welcome Pakistan, with each participating in a two-Test series. Afghanistan then host West Indies in a one-match series at the end of November.