India will be looking to win their 18th successive series at home as they lead the two-match Test series 1,0. In the meantime, Rohit Sharma made history in Kanpur when India won the toss and elected to bowl first at Green Park, Kanpur.
Today marked the start of the second Test between Bangladesh and India at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium. After overnight showers, the outfield became wet, delaying the toss. India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. The only previous time a captain had bowled first in Kanpur in sixty years was when Rohit Sharma, at thirty-seven, did so against England in 1964.
Although there was a chance of rain on the first day, Rohit was quick to act and bowled first. Generally, in Test matches in Asia, the team that wins the toss gets to bat first, but in both of these series’ Test matches, the team that wins the toss has bowled first. The pitch in Kanpur was a little damp, and the sky was overcast.
In the history of Indian cricket, teams have never won two straight Test matches in which they bowled first after winning the toss. This did not occur in backtoback Test matches, but rather twice throughout the three-match series between Sri Lanka and India in 1997. Regarding Rohit Sharma’s record, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi did it sixty years ago as the last captain to bowl first in Kanpur Test matches.
In addition, Rohit has broken a nine-year-old tradition by forcing India to bowl first at home for the first time in that period. The last captain that achieved this in a Bengaluru match against South Africa in 2015 was Virat Kohli.