India faces tough return to Test cricket vs. Bangladesh

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Cricket in India is a religion and one wonders how its diehard fans and players managed to survive the past few months without any Tests being played.

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They now can rejoice as the five-month-long drought ends on Thursday, when Bangladesh faces India in a two-match series. The two countries have met in 13 Tests with India winning 11 and two ending in draws.

India is expected to continue its dominance, but this particular Bangladeshi squad arrives on Indian shores riding on a crest of a wave after pulling off a stunning 2-0 away victory versus Pakistan.

This result came out of the blue, but this much younger and fired-up squad believes it is no longer a doormat of the Test format.

Its poor showing previously can be attributed to the governing body of the game — the International Cricket Council — that only seems to pay undue attention to the leading Test nations like India, Australia and England, while ignoring the rest of the 12 that make up the top tier of the game.

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Others in the same boat as Bangladesh include Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland. The previous time Bangladesh travelled to England for a Test series was back in 2010 while Australia invited them in 2003.

And the ICC wonders why the five-day format is a dying force. Its presence on the calendar has been overtaken by the shorter versions of the game — One-day internationals (ODIs, 50 overs) and Twenty20.

In fact, England got a reality check last month after it played to sparse crowds versus visiting Sri Lanka.

But all this talk about small crowds will be forgotten on Thursday in Chennai, where the stadium will be packed to the rafters.

Although India has an excellent record against the visitors, it will not be treating Bangladesh with kid’s gloves as it has named its best players for the clash including skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, speed merchant Jasprit Bumrah and spinners Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

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On the opposing side, those to watch will be skipper Najmal Shanto, who won plaudits for his work versus Pakistan, and then there is the lanky 21-year-old Nahid Rana, who at 6-foot-3 had Pakistan in all kinds of trouble with his pace that at most times topped 145 km/h.

Others who have made their mark with the ball are 24-year-old Hasan Mahmud and Mehdy Miraz, who has also proved to be an excellent batsman. Who will ever forget his game-winning seventh-wicket partnership with Litton Das as they rescued the team from 26 for six with a stand of 165.

Then there is star opener Shadman Islam and the ever-reliable Shakib Al Hasan, who has always been a threat with bat and ball.

KIRTON, HEYLIGER STAR

Skipper Nicholas Kirton made a superb unbeaten 73 and Dilon Heyliger grabbed five wickets to lead Canada to a one-sided victory over Nepal in an ICC World Cup qualifier playoff at King City.

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Canada next takes on Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26.

Put in to bat, Canada finished on 253 for eight and then dismissed Nepal for 150 in 41 overs. Canada started off slowly, but then Kirton showed his batting prowess by hammering six sixes and three fours in his 44-ball stay.

It was then the turn of fast bowler Heyliger to grab his first five-wicket haul for Canada. Heyliger gave up only 31 runs in his 10 overs and he received superb support from Akhil Kumar (two for 11), Ansh Patel (two for 36) and Saad Bin Zafar (one for 36).

This was Canada’s first victory over Nepal on home soil after getting blanked in a three-match ODI series in Nepal in February.

Elsewhere, the United States kept its hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive with an easy six-wicket win over Namibia.

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While there is an opening for a national coach in Canada, another one has opened up in Kenya after India cricketer Dodda Ganesh got his walking papers just a month after his appointment.

Kenya says Ganesh was let go as he didn’t have enough international experience. Should Kenya not have checked this before hiring him?

GOING GLOBAL

Atul Ahuja, the brains behind the WorldT10 women’s cricket tournament that turned out to be an overwhelming success in Brampton on the weekend, is setting his sights on going global.

Six teams from Trinidad, Alberta, Quebec, Mississauga and from Afghanistan competed in the two-day event with Mississauga running out as winners.

“This initial tourney was a massive success,’’ said Ahuja, who at one time was CEO of Cricket Canada. “I have been approached by a number of sponsors who want to give women’s sport a boost and it is about time.”

Ahuja will next stage tournaments in Montreal, Trinidad and Los Angeles before setting foot in the United Arab Republic where there has been a “great deal of interest in the shortest format of the game,” added Ahuja.

The series in Brampton was backed by tech companies Zoho, Shofun and Race2Cloud technologies.

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