Gearing up to host the second Test in eight years, Green Park, one of India’s oldest cricket venues, wears the look of a quintessential Indian stadium from the 1990s. Over the years, the ground has been a part of Indian cricketing folklore but as it prepares to host the India-Bangladesh Test, starting Friday, there appears numerous challenges, including an unsafe spectator stand and rain threat, that the venue director downplayed and instead claimed that it is all fit and ready to host the match, with the required clearances in place and record crowd expected.

It’s no secret that the host association — the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, have of late preferred to host the games in the newer venue in the state – Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium, which among many modern-day enhancements also boasts of a superior drainage system.

Seven years back at the same venue, an eight-minute drizzle rendered the ground unplayable for an entire day during a Duleep Trophy contest, but Sanjay Kapoor, the venue director is confident of the preparations to counter frequent rain-interruptions that are predicted over the next few days with the tarpaulin sheets that cover nearly the entire ground and two super-soppers in their possession.

On match-eve, India had their practice session on a sunny Thursday morning but a spell of rain disrupted Bangladesh’s training session. For the organisers, the showers couldn’t have come at a better time as it allowed them a final test to check the drainage and ground conditions at Green Park.

Days before the contest, the organisers were faced with another challenge from a right-wing group that demanded no-play with Bangladesh but managed to quell it on time, before a monkey attack compounded their issues. However, the venue director assured that it has also been taken care of.

Coming to cricket, the eve of the second Test belonged to Shakib Al Hasan, who revealed his desire to retire from Test cricket after playing South Africa at home in Mirpur, but given the political situation, that may be fraught with risk. The Kanpur Test could therefore very well be his last.

And thus, Bangladesh trailing 0-1 in the two-match series, and having succumbed to their fourth successive defeat on Indian soil, will be hoping to bounce back from the 280-run crushing in Chennai, and give a befitting farewell to the stalwart.

Even as the uncertainty around Shakib’s swansong at Green Park remains, another left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav will be counting on an opportunity to play his first international game at home in his seven-year-long career. It could be a grand occasion — farewell or welcome — for both left-armers on the spin-friendly pitch expected at Green Park but with rains predicted on the first three days of the Test, the final call lies with the team management.

On a pitch that is expected to stay low and offer turn easily, the overcast conditions and rain prediction could prompt both sides to lean towards their seamers. Having said that, both sides boast of a well-oiled pace unit that showed their prowess on a lively track in Chennai.

With India looking to extend their dominant home run, and consolidate their lead at the top of the World Test Championship table, the hosts will be banking on yet another emphatic all-round contribution.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli managed only 34 runs between them across four innings, but India had three centurions and two half-centurions, which clearly was a sign of India’s batting depth, and possibly the end of over-dependence on the seniors. In the bowling department, India’s seamers shared eight wickets in Bangladesh’s first innings and the spinners nine during the second.

And expectedly, things aren’t going to be smooth for the Bangladeshis, who landed India riding high on a 2-0 whitewash of Pakistan. They did well to reduce India to 144 for 6 in the first innings at Chennai, and also showed intent while batting in the second essay with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto leading the pack with a sedate 82. To counter India, one would thus expect the tourists to be at their best for longer periods, can Bangladesh do that, remains the question!

Squads: 

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sarfaraz Khan, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Akash Deep

Bangladesh: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das(w), Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Khaled Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana.