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IND vs BAN: 3 Reasons Why Three-Pacer Strategy Might Backfire On India In 1st Test

Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj [X]Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj [X]

India and Bangladesh are set to play each other in a two-match Test series. The first game will take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. 

According to the latest reports, India is considering playing three pacers in the game. The strategy is to suit the red soil of the Chennai Pitch that can be expected in this game. However, this strategy can backfire for India and here are three reasons why - 

Spinners do better for India in Chennai

Here is a look at the record at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the last four Test matches - 

Pacers

Overs
Wickets
Runs Conceded
Balls/Wicket
Runs/Wicket
194165137332

Spinners

Overs
Wickets
Runs Conceded
Balls/Wicket
Runs/Wicket
628.1631,7486028

So, the figures show us that the Spinners have a better strike rate and average than pacers in Chennai for the home team. While the pacers take nearly 12 overs to pick a wicket, conceding 32 runs, the spinners take a wicket every ten overs while conceding 28 runs. Thus, the use of three pacers might prove costly for India. 

Pakistan made the same mistake in PAK vs BAN 1st Test

During the Bangladesh tour of Pakistan, in the first Test, we witnessed much hype around grass being kept on the pitch. Looking at the wicket, the Pakistan team dropped all their spinners for the first Test, which backfired for them. 

In the first innings, the Bangladeshi spinners did not get much help on a fresh wicket, and the home team piled 448/6 before declaring. But interestingly, on a deteriorating wicket, the Pakistani pacers seemed toothless, and they conceded 565 runs to Bangladesh. The home team was left wanting a proper spinner and had to extract 41 overs from a make-shift bowler like Agha Salman. 

The Bangladesh spinners came into the game in the third innings and picked up seven of the 10 Pakistani wickets bundling them out for just 146 runs. The visitors won the game by ten wickets, having to chase only 30 runs in the final innings of the match. 

The Indian team should learn from their neighbour's mistakes and not risk dropping a spinner for the first match. If the wicket turns out to be a turner and the two spinners on the field fail to get the desired result, then Rohit Sharma will have to fall back to par-timers to prevent the overuse of his two main spinners, and this is where the game might slip away from India. 

India’s track record with spinners

If we look at India’s record at home in the last five years, we will find it nearly perfect. They played 22 test matches in this period, winning 17 of them, losing three and two tests ending in a draw. Well, even before, India have been a tough team to beat at home, and their spinners are the prime reason behind it. Historically, the spinners have won India games at home, and it is a strategy they should stick to during the series against Bangladesh. Playing three spinners will give India more chances of picking up the 20 wickets faster and that is the biggest requirement to win a Test match.