If the one-day series win over Bangladesh helped India apply the balm on the World Cup scars, the Test series beginning on Friday gives the visitors a chance to completely heal them and gather steam for the sterner tests ahead.
The Indians are a far more experienced side than Bangladesh, and that alone should make the visitors overwhelming favourites. True, Habibul Bashar's men have shocked the world in recent times with some remarkable performances, but those have come in limited-overs cricket. Shaking a line-up as strong as India’s in the traditional format is an entirely different matter.

Wealth of experience
India's line-up in one-dayers had a somewhat newish look to it. The arrival of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble has given it not only the much-needed experience, but a touch of impregnablility as well. The quartet and skipper Rahul Dravid combined have played upwards of 450 Test matches, and that is way ahead of the number of Tests all of Bangladesh’s players combined have played.
The Indian team management will have to sort out a problem of plenty as well. With Dinesh Kaarthick set to open the batting and Dravid keen to play five bowlers considering the taxing conditions in Chittagong, there is an intense battle for a place in the middle-order between Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. If the management wants to persist with the idea of opening with Kaarthick, having Mahendra Singh Dhoni keep wickets and play five bowlers, then they will have to take the tough decision of omitting both Laxman and Yuvraj.

Laxman may open
But if the decision-makers feel they need to give more meat to the middle-order by bringing in either Laxman or Yuvraj, there is the option of Dravid walking out with Wasim Jaffer at pole position, leaving Kaarthick to warm the benches. That will be harsh on the Tamil Nadu youngster, who has looked extremely comfortable in the middle. There is the possibility too of Laxman being pushed up to open, but a final decision will be made after assessing the pitch in the morning.
If the management sticks to the five-bowler policy, then Rudra Pratap Singh will figure in the line-up with Ramesh Powar donning the spin support cast to Kumble.
The presence of Kumble will lend an extra edge to the Indian bowling attack that wore a tired look in the one-dayers.
The veteran leg-spinner might not get a bouncy pitch that is a sure-fire recipe for his success, but even so, the Bangalorean can beguile the Bangladesh batsmen with his subtle variations and trademark accuracy.
It is also an opportunity for Tendulkar – not among the runs of late -- to spend quality time in the middle and register big runs before embarking on another long and difficult journey to England in the immediate future.

Mashud returns
In an effort to bolster their batting that looked wobbly in the one-day series, Bangladesh have brought veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Khalid Mashud back to the fold. The good news for them is that vice-captain Mohammad Ashraful, their batting mainstay, has recovered from a viral fever and is available for selection. The right-hander had smashed a hurricane 158 in Chittagong when India last visited here in 2004-05.
Skipper Bashar, who too was running temperature, has recovered since and is certain to play. This will Bangladesh’s first Test in nearly 14 months, and they will be keen to make a good impression, which will go a long way towards asserting their status in world cricket.
The clear skies and tolerable temperature are good signs ahead of a potentially interesting clash.

Teams (from):
India: Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Kaarthick, Yuvraj Singh, Anil Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ramesh Powar, Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, VRV Singh, Rajesh Pawar.

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Shahariar Nafees, Saqibul Hasan, Rajin Saleh, Tushar Imran, Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haq Jr, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mehrab Hossain Jr.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Daryl Harper (Australia). Third umpire: Enamul Haque. Match referee: Roshan Mahanama ( Sri Lanka).