EXPLAINED: Why India are playing with three pacers on the traditionally spin-friendly Chennai track | Cricket News

India’s decision to field three pacers in the starting eleven for the opening Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh on a traditionally spin-friendly pitch, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, surprised many.
After Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl on Thursday, Rohit announced India's starting XI, saying they had fielded three seamers and two spinners.
FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES FROM DAY 1
Like India, Bangladesh also included three pacers and two spinners in their starting XI, which is evidence that both captains felt that the pitch had something to offer that the pacers could exploit on the first morning.
Rohit confirmed this.
“I would have done that (bowled first) too. The pitch is a bit soft. Conditions will be challenging. We have prepared well, so we should play to our potential and play the way we know how,” Rohit said at the coin toss.

“If you look at the 10 Tests (two against Bangladesh, three against New Zealand and five on the Australia tour), every game is important. But we want to focus on what is ahead. We came here a week ago and have prepared well for this game. We are feeling confident. Three seamers and two spinners – (Jasprit) Bumrah, Akash Deep, (Mohammed Siraj, (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja,” the Indian national team captain added.
Former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik analyzed the track based on the match report and said that “the fast bowlers will have a say in the beginning.”
“It is a very different day from the days we are used to in Chennai. Right now it is very cool at 28 degrees, but as the day progresses it will be 33 to 34 degrees, the Chennai we all know,” said Karthik.
Bangladesh's rookie Hasan Mahmud, a 24-year-old pacer, proved what both the captains and Karthik were thinking when he swept away India's top order with a three-wicket run that sent the visitors slipping to 34 for 3 in 10 overs. Mahmud rattled the popular Indian batting line-up with the big wickets of Rohit Sharma (6), Shubman Gill (0) and Virat Kohli (6).
Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana are the other two speed runners in Bangladesh’s starting eleven.

The place with the red earth
“If we talk about the pitch, it is a red soil pitch. And what does red soil mean? It bounces, it spins and as the game progresses, the big spinners come into play,” Karthik added in the pitch report. “They have left a little residual moisture under the pitch. Fast bowlers will have their say in the beginning.”
The cloudy skies over Chennai, the red ground and the relatively damp track underlined why both teams felt it would be beneficial to bowl a pace attack first on this track, leading to the captains including three pacers in their respective playing XIs.
This was only the ninth time that India had been sent to bat first by a visiting team in a Test match on home soil. Of the previous eight occasions, six had ended in draws, while Australia had convincing 10-wicket victories in the remaining two matches.
Interestingly, the last time India fielded a trio of fast bowlers in a home Test was also against Bangladesh. In both Tests against them in 2019, India's pace attack consisted of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

Playing teams
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana