India vs Bangladesh Test matches: Bangladesh's 24-year struggle against India

India's Test season is set to kick off with a thrilling two-match series against Bangladesh at home. The highly anticipated first Test is scheduled to take place at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai starting from September 19. Despite being the clear favorites to clinch the series, India will not be underestimating their opponents. Bangladesh's impressive triumph in Pakistan and their spirited performance against India in their last series proves that they are a force to be reckoned with. Captain Rohit Sharma and his team will be approaching this series with utmost focus and determination, fully aware of the challenge that awaits them.

Bangladesh are among the comparitively recent entrants to Test cricket and their journey in the longest format started with a one-off match at homee against India in November 2000. In the 24 years since, the two sides have faced each other in 13 Test matches and Bangladesh are yet to beat India once in red-ball cricket. Here we take a look at the eight series, including one-off Tests, that India have played against Bangladesh over the years.

1. India in Bangladesh Test match December 2000 (India win by nine wickets)

For Bangladesh, it all started with Test match at home against India in Dhaka that started on November 10, 2000 and ended on November 13. The hosts were led by Naimur Rahman and did well batting first, with Aminul Islam becoming their first-ever Test centurion as he scored 145 off 380 balls. Bangladesh were all out for 400 with Sunil Joshi taking five wickets and pacers Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar taking two wickets each. Joshi led the way with the bat as well scoring 92 while captain Sourav Ganguly made 84 as India took a 29-run lead. Joshi then took three wickets, as did Javagal Srinath as Bangladesh capitulated for 91 runs in their second innings after which Rahul Dravid smashed an unbeaten 41 off 49 balls to lead India to victory.

2. India in Bangladesh 2-match Test series, December 2004 (India win 2-0)

India visited Bangladesh again in 2004, this time for two Test matches. Ganguly was still the captain for India while Habibul Bashar led the hosts and the series wasn't much of a contest. Irfan Pathan took five wickets in the first innings of the first match and six wickets in the second and was player of the match in the first Test in Dhaka. Sandwiched between those two performances was an unbeaten 248 off 379 balls from Sachin Tendulkar. India won the first match by an innings and 140 runs. Gautam Gambhir scored 139 while Rahul Dravid compiled 160 runs as India scored a mammoth 540 runs batting first in the second Test. Mohammad Ashraful was unbeaten on 158 off 194 in Bangladesh's first innings but it wasn't enough to stop them from falling to a defeat by an innings and 83 runs.

3. India in Bangladesh 2-match Test series, May 2007 (India win 1-0)

The third series between the two sides was also hosted by Bangladesh and this time, they managed to avoid defeat to India for the first time in a Test. That happened in the first match in Chattogram with centuries from Tendulkar and Ganguly leading India to a score of 387/8, at which point captain Rahul Dravid declared. India had batted for two full days and there was no play possible on the third day. Pacers Vikram Singh and RP Singh took 3 wickets each but Mashrafe Mortaza scored 79 to help Bangladesh to a score of 238. India then declared for 100/6 after which Bangladesh got to a score of 104/2 chasing a target of 250. The second Test proved to be a bumper one for Indian batters with the top four of Dinesh Karthik, Wasim Jaffer, Dravid and Tendulkar all scoring centuries while MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on 51 off 50. India declared on a mind boggling score of 610/3 and won the match by an innings and 239 runs.

4. India in Bangladesh 2-match Test series, January 2010 (India win 2-0)

Shakib Al Hasan and Shahadat Hossain got five wickets each in the first innings of the first Test while Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 105 to get India to a score of 243. Bangladesh fell one run behind with Zaheer and Amit Mishra traking three wickets each. Gambhir's 116 then led the way as India decladed on 413/8 and while Mushfiqur Rahim scored 101 off 114, Mishra took another four wickets and India won 113 runs. Pacers Ishant Sharma and and Zaheer then blasted away the Bangladesh top order in the first innings of the second Test as they fell for a score of 233. Centuries from Dravid and Tendulkar then took India to a score of 544/8. Tamim Iqbal then scored 151 in the hosts' second innings but it was not enough to prevent them from falling to a 10-wicket loss.

5. India in Bangladesh Test match, June 2015 (Match drawn)

There came a five-year gap of Test matches between the two sides and so India especially were quite a different side when they returned for a red-ball match to Bangladesh. Openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan scored 150 and 173 respectively while Ajinkya Rahane scored 98 as India declared on 462/6. The match was marred by rain delays and so while Ravichandran Ashwin took five wickets in the Bangladesh first innings, there was no result possible at the end of it all.

6. Bangladesh in India Test match, February 2017 (India win by 208 runs)

Bangladesh's first Test match in India came nearly 17 years after they started their life in red-ball cricket. Captain Virat Kohli scored 204 while Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha scored centuries as India declared on 687/6. Umesh Yadav picked three wickets while Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picked two each as Bangladesh were all out for 388, with Mushfiqur scoring 127. India then batted again for a smash and grab burst after which four-wicket hauls from Ashwin and Jadeja got them to a 208-run win.

7. Bangladesh in India 2-match Test series, November 2019 (India win 2-0)

This series is notable for the second Test, which was the first of two pink-ball Tests to have been played in India. India won the first match in Indore by an innings and 130 runs with Mayank Agarwal smashing 243 in the hosts' only innings. In the second at Eden Gardens, Ishant Sharma, playing his 100th Test, took five wickets in the first innings after which captain Kohli's 136 took India to a score of 357/9. Ishant took another four wickets while Umesh Yadav picked five, with spinners Ashwin and Jadeja hardly bowling at all for once despite the match being held in India. India won by an innings and 46 runs.

8. India in Bangladesh 2-match Test series, December 2023 (India win 2-0)v

India returned to Bangladesh for a Test series for the first time in seven years in the last rubber played between the two sides. India scored 404 batting first with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam both taking four wickets each. Kuldeep's five-wicket haul helped India wipe out Bangladesh for 150 after which centuries from Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara got India to a score of 258/2 in their second. Kuldeep took three more wickets while Axar Patel got four as India won the match by 188 runs.

Stay informed with the...