[Watch] Rohit Sharma assesses Kanpur pitch ahead of IND vs BAN 2nd Test 2024

Team India captain Rohit Sharma was keenly assessing the Green Park wicket at Kanpur where the second Bangladesh Test will be played from Friday, September 27. India won the series opener at Chennai by a massive 280 runs, thanks to excellent all-round performances from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and centuries from Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.

However, they uncharacteristically went with a three-seamers-two spinners option for the first Test due to a greenish wicket with overcast conditions in Chennai. With reports suggesting that the Kanpur track will likely aid the spinners, Rohit Sharma could go with the customary three spinners and two pacers option.

With two days to go for the start of the second Test, here is a video of Rohit having a close look at the pitch:

India are on a five-Test winning streak after losing the first Test against England in Hyderabad earlier in the year. They have also not lost a Test match at Kanpur since 1983 against the West Indies, with five wins and four draws over the last nine red-ball outings.

Should India go with three spinners, who they select between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel and for which three pacers will be the next conundrum.

What happened the last time India played a Test match at Kanpur?

The last time India played a Test in Kanpur was against New Zealand in the series opener in 2021. On a two-paced wicket where run-scoring was a challenge, India posted a competitive 345 in their first innings, thanks to a brilliant century by Shreyas Iyer.

In response, the Black Caps mustered 296 on the back of a sensational opening partnership of 151 between Tom Latham and Will Young. The duo put New Zealand in a commanding position before a middle-order collapse saw them lose ten wickets for only 145.

The second innings was another struggle for the hosts. They were reduced to 51/5 before game-changing half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer and Wriddhiman Saha took them to 234/7 declared, setting the visitors a target of 284 in just over a day.

New Zealand battled hard on Day 5 and played out 98 overs with a score of 165/9, escaping with a draw after bad light prevented the final few overs. The result broke India's three-Test winning streak at Kanpur but they won the second Test at Mumbai by a massive 372 runs to clinch the series 1-0.