India wins toss, bowl against Bangladesh in second Test

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Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat in the second and final Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur on Friday.

The hosts, who lead the two-game series 1-0, came into the game unchanged with three sailors under cloudy skies after overnight rain and a wet outfield forced officials to delay the start by an hour.

Bangladesh, led by Najmul Hossain Shanto, made two changes to the team for this match. It could be former captain Shakib Al Hasan's last game in this format.

Fast bowler Khaled Ahmed and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam come in for Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed.

Shakib on Thursday said he wanted his Test swansong during the South Africa series to be back home in Mirpur.

But the Proteas are still assessing whether Bangladesh is safe enough to visit after the student-led revolution that toppled autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina last month.

Shakib, 37, is charged with murder, along with dozens of other members of Hasina's party who are accused of complicity in a deadly crackdown on protesters.

Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Faruque Ahmed said that the “safety of players is not in the board's hands”.

Najmul said he was “happy to bat first” and hoped his batters could improve on their opening loss in Chennai by 280 runs.

teams

India: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (Week), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.

Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (Capt), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (Week), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed.

Referees: Chris Brown (NZL), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

TV referee: Rod Tucker (AUS)

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

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