IND vs BAN: Shanto unsure how challenging it will be to play on days 3 & 4

The second day of the second Test between India and Bangladesh was completely washed out. Only 35 overs have been played in the Test so far, all of which was on Day One. Bangladesh managed to put up 107/3 after being asked to bat first. After Zakir Hasan was dismissed for a 24-ball duck, Shadman Islam (24), Mominul Haque (40*) and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (31) got off to starts, but two wickets from Akash Deep and one from Ravichandran Ashwin kept the opposition in check.

With the pitch completely under covers for a day and a half, skipper Shanto does not know how challenging it will be to bat on the next two days, as the pitch has not received any sunshine. According to the forecast, heavy rains are expected on Day Three as well.  "As a player, it's very frustrating [the rain]," Shanto said on September 28 (Saturday) after play was called off without a single ball. 

"The game started after a lot of difficulties [on Friday], then we got to play for a while and then it got stopped again. There was no play today. So, overall it's really frustrating as a player. But we have nothing to do with it. It's not in our control. But it would feel better if there was some play."

"The wicket was decent. I think the bigger challenge was to play through the [numerous] breaks on and off. The rain remains a continuous threat with batters having to bat keeping that in mind which is difficult. 

"Apart from that, I can tell the wicket so far has been pretty good. We will not know how challenging it will be to play on day three and four because it is not getting enough sunshine."

Shanto put on 51 for the third wicket on the first day of the Test, but believes that the game is still well in balance.

"I think we lost one extra wicket. We had a good start. I won't say we are in a bad position, given the wicket we are playing on. We have a few more batters. If we can have two big partnerships, we can be in a good position. But at this moment, I think it's balanced right now," he said.

India are 1-0 up in the two-match Test series, following their 280-run victory in Chennai. After the Kanpur Test, the two teams will play three T20 Internationals (T20I) in Gwalior (October 6), Delhi (October 9) and Hyderabad (October 12).

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