Indore: Having crushed South Africa convincingly 3-0, Virat and his men who are currently in the “pink of form” look to consolidate their position in ICC Test Championship points table with Team India taking on gritty Bangladesh in two-match Test series.
With 240 points from two back to back series sweep, No 1 side in the longest format of the game currently sits at the top of the table with five wins in five matches. Icing on the cake is that the world No 9 team is now in the den of No 1 side and the host can increase their tally to 360 points with a series sweep.
Every point is an added bonus for Team India and should act as the much-needed cushion when they travel to tougher pastures of SENA - South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia.
For Bangladesh, it will be their first venturing into the championship and as they say well begun is half done. There’s no doubt that India are a formidable opposition at home but, if T20I series is anything to go by, we know that the Tigers will not surrender without a fight.
Host which has 100 per cent winning record here in Indore start as favourites to pick up valuable 120 points from the two games against a Bangladesh side missing key players like star all rounder Shakib Al Hasan and prolific opener Tamim Iqbal.
Hasan was banned for two years, with one year suspended, by the International Cricket Council after he admitted to failure to declare illegal approaches by bookies and the ban ruled Shakib out of the tour and next year's World T20 in Australia, while Iqbal took break from national duty due to family reason.
Kohli, who opted out of the T20 matches, returns to lead the side that recently won their record 11th straight series at home. Rohit Sharma has been in hot form, hitting two centuries and a double ton in his debut series as opener against South Africa.
The pace department also looks settled despite the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and has played a key part in the three convincing test wins over South Africa.
