India massive favourites against Bangladesh
Not only will that be Bangladesh’s biggest challenge in 2019, but they will have to face it without two of their key players Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.
India at India in Tests is possibly the toughest task in world cricket at the moment and that is exactly what awaits the Bangladesh cricket team.
Not only will that be Bangladesh's biggest challenge in 2019, but they will have to face it without two of their key players Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.
It could be argued that a bigger challenge in cricket has never been in front of the Tigers in their Test history and without their greatest ever player and their best ever batsman, the challenge becomes all the more daunting.
A win or even a draw here would go down in the annals of Bangladesh cricket history as one of their greatest ever feats.
A win in the first Twenty20 International against the hosts would have given Bangladesh some confidence to do well.
But the way Bangladesh performed in the second and third game - especially the third match - highlighted just how fragile the mentality of the team still is.
They had the match in the palm of their hands when Mohammad Naim and Mohammad Mithun were batting with eight wickets in hand and requiring less than ten runs per over.
However, the prospect of winning a historic series against India in their home soil perhaps played on the minds of the players and they eventually managed to lose the match.
Add to that, the best batsman in world cricket Virat Kohli will be unleashed along with Mohammad Shami and Kuldeep Yadav and India will be a far stronger unit.
Just a quick glance at their line-up reveals why they are the number one ranked Test team in the world and lead the ICC Test Championship by a massive margin.
Pitch and conditions
Bangladesh are expected to be playing in batsman-friendly conditions at Indore and winning the toss will be important for them.
On this kind of a surface, batting first becomes imperative and almost obligatory as on days four and five the pitch could crumble and become more effective for the bowlers.
One would be hoping for rain to force a draw if things go badly for Bangladesh but the chances of that happening in any of the five days are close to zero.
Possible XI's
India: Virat Kohli should return to the starting XI as captain while Wriddhiman Saha should be given wicket-keeping duties in place of Rishabh Pant.
Pant has been struggling with his batting form and that has also affected his performances behind the stumps, while Saha had an excellent series against South Africa with the gloves.
Given the batsman-friendly conditions, India could go with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja while having Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma in as the two pacers.
XI: Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma.
Recent form: Five matches, five won, zero lost
Bangladesh: Mominul Haque comes into the team and it will be his first series as captain as Shakib serves his one-year ban by the ICC.
The opening will also be changed with Shadman Islam being joined by Imrul Kayes or Saif Hassan.
Liton Das should be behind the stumps as wicket-keeper as Mushfiqur Rahim has decided to stop wicket-keeping in Tests.
Off-spinners Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam are a shoo-in for the starting XI but the rest of the bowling attack remains a big question mark.
Mustafizur Rahman could be persisted with, despite his poor recent form while Mosaddek Hossain misses out with injury and that should make way for Mohammad Mithun.
The side should be completed with either one of off-spinner Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed Chowdhury or Al-Amin Hossain making it to the XI.
XI: Shadman Islam, Imrul Kayes, Saif Hassan, Mominul Haque (c), Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain/Abu Jayed Chowdhury.
Recent form: Five matches, two won, three lost