India Opt To Bowl In A Home Test For First Time In Nine Years; 60-Year-Old Feat Matched In Kanpur

India vs Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, a rare feat for a home test match in India.

India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first in the IND vs BAN 2nd Test at the Green Park Stadium, Kanpur.

Source : PTI

India vs Bangladesh: The second Test match of the two-match India vs Bangladesh series is finally underway at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. While there was a delayed start on Day 1 with overnight rain and wet conditions in the morning, when the captains did come out for toss at 10:00 am (Indian Standard Time) instead of the scheduled 09:30 am, India captain Rohit Sharma did surprise a section of the fans with his decision to bowl first.

Notably, this is the first time in nine years that India have chosen to field first in a home Test match. The last time India opted to field first in a Test match at home was against South Africa in 2015 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. That was the only instance under Virat Kohli's captaincy that the hosts chose to field in a Test match in India.

🚨 Toss Update 🚨

Captain @ImRo45 wins the toss and #TeamIndia have elected to bowl in Kanpur.

Live - https://t.co/JBVX2gyyPf#INDvBAN | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Hsl0HcoVTa

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 27, 2024

60 Year-Old Record Matched In Kanpur

Meanwhile, with a team opting to field first after winning the toss in Kanpur, a 60-year-old record was matched at the venue. The ongoing India vs Bangladesh Test happens to be only the second instance of a team choosing to field first in 24 Test matches that have been played in the city. The only other instance of a team winning the toss and fielding first at this venue dates back to 1964 during the India vs England Test.

Rohit Sharma Names Unchanged 11 For Second Test

Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma named an unchanged Playing 11. While there was a school of thought which reckoned that India could add an extra spinner in their side, the surface on offer for the IND vs BAN 2nd Test looked different from a traditional Kanpur surface and the overcast conditions meant Rohit went ahead with three seamers and two spinners in the bowling attack, not making any changes to the team that won the series opener in Chennai.