The ‘Men In Blue’ made a confident start to the 2016-17 season, recording India’s biggest win outside the subcontinent when they thrashed the hosts by an innings and 92 runs in the opening Test.
India will look to continue in the same vein in the tour, which is Anil Kumble’s debut series as chief coach of the team.
But it would be easier said than done as a green pitch awaits the visitors at Sabina Parka, a stark contrast to the conditions in Antigua, where the visitors had won the match in four days.
Going by the records, it was way back in 2008 when a Test lasted five days at Sabina Park which Australia won by 98 runs. Since then, five Tests have been played here and all of them have finished within four days, including India’s 63-run win in 2011.
The West Indies’s last Test here was against Australia in the summer of 2015, and that match finished past lunch on the fourth day.
While India will find comfort in a settled line-up, there are some obvious points to ponder over like the fitness of opener M. Vijay.
Uncertainty lies over Vijay’s availability as there is still no confirmation on whether he is fit enough to play or not.
The opener has been missing action since being hit on the thumb by Shannon Gabriel on the first morning of the series, and didn’t field for a single minute in the first Test. But the question remains, whether the team management would be willing to risk playing Vijay when they have another opener available in K.L. Rahul.
The other issue is about the team combination, and whether skipper Virat Kohli will opt for a five-bowler attack once again.
If the West Indies does pick another pacer, or even two more, an additional full-time batsman will mark a conservative selection on Kohli’s part, especially since India’s three frontline batsmen — Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane — contributed only 45 out of 566 runs in Antigua.
No comments:
Post a Comment