India vs Bangladesh: How impactful will spinners be in Chennai?

India return to action after a much-needed 43-day break. The team, which has been playing consistent cricket over the last 2-3 years, definitely needed this break to refresh and rejuvenate. Bangladesh will be making their tour to India after a historic series win against Pakistan in August. 

The iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, the venue for the first match of the series, will host a Test match after three and a half years. The last instance was the first two Tests against England in February 2021. The venue has hosted four Tests since 2010, with two wins each for teams batting first and second. 

Venue record in Chennai in Tests since 2010

Matches - 4

Bat 1st Won - 2 | Bat 2nd Won - 2

Toss win bat - 4 | Toss win bowl - 0

Avg 1st inns score - 441 | Avg 1st inns winning score - 454

Avg 2nd inns score - 451/9 | Avg 2nd inns score - 666/9

With monsoon season around the months of September and October, Chennai has not hosted many Test matches during this time. Out of 34 Tests at this venue, only five Tests were held during these two months. The last time a Test was held in September was 38 years ago, back in 1986, which saw the second-ever tied Test match between India and Australia.

Since 2023, Tamil Nadu have played three Ranji Trophy games during the 2022-23 season. Tamil Nadu won two of those games against Saurashtra and Assam, respectively, and their third match ended in a draw, with Karnataka taking the first-innings lead. In all these three matches, teams scored in excess of 300 runs. In the remaining three innings, only once a team scored 300+ runs. 

Chennai is one of the favourite venues for spinners in Tests. Since 2010, nearly 71% of wickets have been taken by spinners, with an average of seven wickets per innings. Pacers, too, have done a decent job at this venue, as their bowling average is almost the same as spinners. 

Impact of spinners across the four innings is visible as they take minimum of five wickets in each innings. It’s the first and third innings that sees the most damage done by the spinners as they take 7-8 wickets on an average maintaining a economy below three runs per over.

Like many pitches in India, Chennai is the best for batters during their respective first innings, as the average scores are around 450. This completely drops in the second innings as the ball makes a lot of noise when it is in the hands of the spinners. The average drops to nearly 200 runs per innings, which makes it clear that the first-innings lead plays a vital part in winning a Test, as it is tough for teams to bounce back from a deficit.

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