Tigers hope to bounce back in Kanpur amid new challenges

Bangladesh's challenge in the second Test in Kanpur may just have gotten a little spicier after ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan came in the press conference and announced that his Test career is coming to an end in the home Test series against South Africa in October-November.

Shakib is one of the spearheads of the team as its all-time leading all-rounder. His Test career coming to an end is big news and even the second Test against India is now having to take a backseat as Shakib becomes the point of discussion, not just for the cricket but for politics as well.

Yet, for the Bangladesh team, it is about managing their own focus on the upcoming assignment. India handed the Tigers a heavy defeat in Chennai despite things falling their way during the first two days, condition-wise.

There was peculiar weather on offer in Kanpur as it remained overcast and rained through most of the day on Thursday. The Tigers also failed to complete their session in the afternoon due to downpour.

Kanpur is expected to produce runs and the Bangladesh top-order must thwart India's top-quality attack in order to get something from the game. There is speculation about the black soil on the pitch being conducive to low and slow bounce. Kanpur has historically produced drawn Tests. The last 10 Tests here have seen four draws and the last away team to win here were the West Indies, back in 1983.

Although the last Test ended in a draw, it was an exciting finish as New Zealand survived with just a wicket in hand, thanks to bad light ending play early on Day 5.

Given the skills that India possess, it would mean whatever the surface, it is the Bangladesh batters that have to overcome any loss of focus and turn out with the bat.

Shakib himself said that facing opponents like India or Australia meant that the conditions do not matter a lot, to general nod in agreement from the contingent of media present. It is India's quality that Bangladesh would have to tackle, a challenge that in itself would have been a tough prospect even without Shakib's announcement of retirement plans.

But come the Test match, everything else would have to take a backseat. Team combinations are being thought out. India may have lined up a different challenge, with the last Test against New Zealand they played here, seeing them turn up with three spinners. Shakib said that they expected to put on a better showing in Chennai. "We thought we were a better team than that and we need to show that," he said.

Bangladesh have, of course, done it before and pretty recently too. When the situation in the country was unstable due to unrest, the Tigers gathered as a unit to seize a famous series sweep against Pakistan in Pakistan.

Kanpur being one step closer to his swansong, Shakib would love to get some runs under his belt, having showed he is recovering his batting form despite not making big runs. Thus, the challenges could galvanise the Tigers and they will hope to do something special, as they did in Pakistan. On the upside, they could also be motivated to do something in Shakib's last-ever Test away from home.