/ Editor / 16 May 2007 /

1st Test, Friday 4.30

Bangladesh go into this clash aiming to prove that their World Cup win over India was not a fluke. Repeating that shock success will be no easy task - the Tigers have only won one of their 44 Tests played to date.

That solitary win came against Zimbabwe in January 2005. Their 43 other Tests have brought 39 defeats and four draws (three versus Zimbabwe and one with the West Indies). Should India slip-up in this two match series, they can expect another public flogging similar to that meted out after their early World Cup exit.

Bangladesh might therefore feel that they have nothing to lose and India everything, although the home side's outgoing Coach, Dav Whatmore, will feel some pressure as he aims to impress his prospective future employers.

Greg Chappell vacated one of cricket's hottest seats after the Caribbean disappointment and Whatmore is high on the list to succeed interim Coach Ravi Shastri. The former Sri Lankan boss has overseen a gradual improvement in his four year tenure and would love to sign off with a historic Test win.

Surprisingly Bangladesh have only faced India three times in Tests, the fewest games played against any team. They went down by nine wickets in their Test debut in November 2000 and lost both subsequent clashes in 2004/05 by an innings.

India therefore start an away series as favourites, which is a rare occurrence. They have only won 27 of their 196 overseas Tests, drawing 85 and losing 84. They trade at 1.83 to win the first Test, with the hosts available at 12 and 2.06 the draw.

The stalemate has been well-backed perhaps not because of the closeness of the two sides or the prospect of a batsman's paradise, but because of the unreliable weather in the region. The venue for this clash, the Chittagong Divisional Stadium, was hit by a downpour that accounted for the final One Day International on Tuesday. More rain is forecast for the weekend.

Should the rain stay away to enable a full match to take place, India's fans must be confident of their team's prospects. The visitors won both completed ODIs with some ease and should be well enough acclimatised to prevent being caught cold by the hosts, as Australia nearly were last year.

The Aussies stepped off the plane into a two match series last April, which is surprisingly the last Test action seen by Bangladesh. The visitors eventually won the first Test at Fatullah by three wickets, despite surrendering a 158 run deficit on first innings. Australia were more convincing in winning the second Test by an innings and 80 runs.

That clash was just the second to be played at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium. It was first used in 2005 for the visit of Sri Lanka, so both teams will have little previous history to go on when weighing up the pitch and conditions.

We might expect the hosts to bat first, regardless of the pitch or toss winner. Bangladesh have elected to bat first 17 times from the 22 occasions that the coin has favoured their skipper and have been sent in 16 times, also from 22 toss wins enjoyed by opposing teams.

Opponents clearly like to make early inroads into the fragile Bangladeshi batting line-up and Rahul Dravid can be expected to follow that trend, especially if the current damp conditions continue to prevail.

Regardless of when they bat, the Tigers are rarely involved in tight finishes. They have followed on in seven of their 11 Test when batting first and have lost by an innings in six of those. The opposition has needed to bat once in 19 of the 33 matches where Bangladesh have batted first.

Despite being outclassed so often, Bangladesh are still on an upward curve. They have shown glimpses of their ability in the One Day arena, notably in the World Cup, when they followed their Indian triumph with an even more impressive win over South Africa. They have won two of their last five ODIs against India.

However, a disappointing defeat to Ireland hinted at inconsistency and they have yet to prove that they can maintain a sustained level of performance in the five day format.

India's followers can identify with this inconsistency. So often formidable at home, they have long been poor travellers, although their record overseas has improved in recent years.

Since drawing 1-1 in Australia in 2003/04, India have won four series away from home and lost two, with an individual match record from their last 16 of won five, drawn seven and lost four.

India have resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes after the World Cup and their squad is similar to that which travelled to South Africa in January. RP Singh comes in for the injured Sri Sreesanth and the respected figure of Shastri must ensure he gets the best out of Sourav Ganguly, who so publicly fell out with Chappell.

The former skipper is once again a key member of the visitors' experienced batting unit, all of whom have enjoyed success against the Tigers. Ganguly, Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar all average in excess of 75 from their three previous matches played.

The hosts have unearthed some of their own batting gems, although Tamim Iqbal has been left out despite the encouraging start he made to his ODI career in the World Cup. All-rounders Saqibal Hasan and Mehrab Hossan jnr are included for the first time and Tushar Imran is given a recall after a two year absence.

There is still plenty of experience in the home side's ranks, with Habibul Bashar retaining the captaincy despite recording a highest score of 32 in the World Cup. Veteran keeper Khaled Mashud returns in place of Mushfiqur Rahim. One Day specialists Abdur Rassak and Aftab Ahmed are left out.

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