India vs Bangladesh: History, records in Tests so far

India and Bangladesh share a brief history in Test cricket, where the two teams have played only nine Tests against each other.

Published : Nov 13, 2019 11:33 IST , Chennai

Soumya Sarkar plays a shot during the one-off Test in 2015 against India in Fatullah.
Soumya Sarkar plays a shot during the one-off Test in 2015 against India in Fatullah.
lightbox-info

Soumya Sarkar plays a shot during the one-off Test in 2015 against India in Fatullah.

India and Bangladesh, starting Thursday, will play a proper Test series (which involves the teams playing more than one Test) for just the fourth time since the latter gained Test status in June 2000.

Sportstar recaps the one-off Tests and Test series between the two teams so far.

On the field, India and Bangladesh share only a brief history. That is even more true in Test cricket, where the two teams have played only nine Tests against each other. To put this into perspective, Bangladesh has played more Tests against Sri Lanka (20), Zimbabwe (16) and Pakistan (10) — teams, excluding itself, that got Test status after India — than against its upcoming opponent.

India, however, was Bangladesh’s first Test opponent. The two teams met at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka in November 2000, when India won by nine wickets. Aminul Islam became Bangladesh’s first Test centurion, his 145 helping the new Test entrant score 400 in the first innings, and India was kept on the field for 153.3 overs after captain Naimur Rahman won the toss and elected to bat. A second-innings collapse and being bowled out for 91 paved the way for a facile Indian victory.

In Pictures: India players tune up with the pink ball

Bangladesh had to wait four years to play against India one more time, and it was on home soil again. The difference: it was a two-Test series, with the first Test played in Dhaka and the second in Chattogram (previously Chittagong). This time too, India hardly had to break a sweat for each of its wins. It won the Dhaka Test by an innings and 140 runs, with left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan taking 11 wickets in a player-of-the-match performance which overshadowed Sachin Tendulkar registering his highest Test score (248 not out), and followed it up with another victory by an innings and 83 runs. Mohammad Ashraful’s unbeaten 158 in the first innings of the second Test was the biggest positive to come out of the series whitewash.

India toured Bangladesh for a third time on the back of an ignominious group-stage exit from the 2007 World Cup. Bangladesh denied India another Test series whitewash this time, drawing the first Test after conceding a significant first-innings lead before suffering a defeat by an innings and 239 runs in the second. India had four centurions in its first innings, with Dinesh Karthik, Wasim Jaffer, captain Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar getting three-figure scores to help India pile on 610 for three after Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar won the toss and elected to field first.

India clinched a clean sweep in a two-match Test series in 2010, winning the first Test by 113 runs after the two teams were almost level after their respective first innings, before a 10-wicket win in the second.

In 2015, another World Cup year, India played a one-off Test against Bangladesh in Fatullah and, with plenty of overs lost due to inclement weather, had to settle for a draw. Opening batsmen Shikhar Dhawan (173) and Murali Vijay (150) scored big hundreds while sharing a 283-run partnership for the first wicket.

Read: Kohli back with the team, smashes pink ball in nets session

Bangladesh’s first Test on Indian soil came in February 2017 after the two teams agreed to play a one-off Test in August the previous year. It was another dominant Indian performance that secured a 208-run victory, reminding Bangladesh of the gulf between the two teams. To Bangladesh’s disadvantage, India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat. India piled up 687 for six before declaring, with Kohli himself hitting a double-century (204) while Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha also registering three-figure scores. For Bangladesh, captain Mushfiqur Rahim hit a century (127) and Shakib Al Hasan scored 82, but the pair couldn’t help their team avoid a big first-innings deficit and being potentially enforced the follow-on. India didn’t, and set Bangladesh a target of 459. It was bowled out for 250, with India’s spin twins R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja sharing eight wickets between them.

Sachin tops the run-scoring chart

Tendulkar, who played in seven of the nine Tests between India and Bangladesh so far, leads the run-scoring charts with 820 runs in nine innings at an average of 136.66. He scored five 100s against Bangladesh. Bangladesh has four players in the top-10 run-scorers in Tests between the two countries, but only Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim feature from the current squad.

Zaheer leads the wicket-taking chart

With 31 wickets, Zaheer Khan is the leading wicket-taker in Tests involving India and Bangladesh. Among the active cricketers, India’s Ishant Sharma (13) and Ashwin (11) feature in the top-10. Shakib Al Hasan, who’s serving a two-year ban, is fourth on the list of leading wicket-takers with 15 wickets.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment