Day 1 – Session 1: Bangladesh chose to field.
Current RR: 3.83
• Min. Ov. Rem: 71.3
• Last 10 ov (RR): 37/1 (3.70)
It was an unusual decision to put India in to bat in a Test match in India, but team selections on both sides and the overhead conditions seemed to back up Bangladesh’s call
The first morning of the Chepauk Test between India and Bangladesh – and it was an overcast start • BCCI
Bangladesh chose to bowl vs India
Bangladesh kickstarted India’s home season with a surprising decision of bowling first, the first time such a call has been made in India in five years and the first time in seven years in a series involving India in India. The last time a side chose to field first in a Test in India and involving India, it was in a rain-affected Test on a green seamer.
However, what is even more surprising is that Rohit Sharma said India would have bowled first themselves had they won the toss. Three quicks in both sides backed the direction the teams wanted to take. Any doubts they might have had were cleared by overcast skies, which will be a relief for people in Chennai after a week in which records were broken by the heat.
Rohit said the pitch was a little soft underfoot, which should help seam movement. The red-soil pitch should offer good bounce, and, deeper into the Test, turn.
Rishabh Pant was playing his first Test since his serious car accident at the end of the 2022. The fit-again KL Rahul, too, made a comeback, playing in the middle order ahead of Sarfaraz Khan.
Bangladesh 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt.), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Nahid Rana
Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo
