India pick three seamers, Bangladesh elect to field

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss asked India to bat first in the opening match of the two-test series between the neighbours in Chennai on Thursday.

India picked a three-pronged seam attack led by Jasprit Bumrah for a red-soil pitch, which is likely to help bounce and spin, at the M.A.Chidambaram Stadium.

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be playing his first test since a horrific car accident in December 2022.

Local boy Ravichandran Ashwin and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will share the spin workload for the hosts.

"I would have done that as well (bowl first)," India captain Rohit Sharma said.

"It's going to be challenging conditions. We have prepared well, so we should back our potential and play the way we know."

Bangladesh are on a high after their 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan earlier this month.

"There's moisture on the wicket and we want to make use of it," Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said explaining his decision at toss.

"The way we played that series (against Pakistan), we are confident. This is a new series, we'll have to follow our processes."

• Team Abu Dhabi duo set for tense battle in world title race