PREVIEW: Can the visitors create history on Caribbean shores?

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  • Can India script history?

    Venue: Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St. Lucia

    Date & Time: August 9, 1800 GST

    A tame draw at Sabina Park spoke more about the West Indies’ future in international cricket than what the numbers suggest. On a slow fifth day surface, two rookie batsmen held fort and thwarted the Indian bowlers long enough to grow a few creases on their foreheads.

    Surprisingly, these were the same bowlers who wreaked havocin the first innings and fed on the Caribbean ruins like merciless vultures.

    Expect the Indians to return stronger though. In Virat Kohli, they have a bold leader with an unquenchable appetite for victory. Although the bowlers did look more than a bit listless on the final day at Jamaica, ruling them out would be a folly that West Indies cannot afford – not at least in a potentially series-deciding encounter.

    BIG PICTURE

    News from the West Indies camp indicates that opener Rajendra Chandrika has been dropped in favor of 22-year-old Shai Hope. Hope’s career average (which includes only six Tests) is marginally better than Chandrika’s 14.00, but the fact that the former has scored heavily in recent times, the last one being a century for WICB President’s XI in the first warm-up match against India, seems to have tilted the odds in his favor.

    The middle-order of Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood and Shane Dowrich managed to salvage some pride for the home team in the last Test, but their success failed to overshadow the consistent failures of the top order.

    The bowling department continues to remain a huge worry. Miguel Cummins went wicketless in the last Test, and if Gros Islet maintains its tradition of being a batting friendly track, Jason Holder’s men might be in for long hours under the sun for the third time in this tour.

    Although the scoresheet presents a rosy picture for the Indian batsmen, Chesteshwar Pujara’s failures in both the Tests seem to have raised a few questions on his place in the team. With KL Rahul grabbing every single opportunity given to him, Pujara needs to find his old flair back soon in order to make a strong case for himself.

    VENUE

    St. Lucia was home to the Zouks in the recently concluded CPL

    St. Lucia was home to the Zouks in the recently concluded CPL

    A glance at the surface at St. Lucia would be enough to reassure a struggling batsman craving for some runs. The ground has witnessed only four Tests since the inaugural match in 2003. Of them, three have ended without a result and the home team emerged victorious in one against Bangladesh in 2014.

    Dry grass traditionally dominates the mostly brown surface. A touch of green was noticed on Sunday with the groundsmen still watering it. However, the sun is strong on this side of the islands, and any residual moisture must be expected to evaporate within the first few hours of play on Tuesday.

    Once the deck turns into a batting paradise, it is difficult to imagine bowlers extracting any assistance from the conditions. The wickets then would come only at the mercy of individual error on the batsmen’s part. One hopes that the captain winning the toss will look forward to bat first on this pitch.

    WATCH OUT FOR – Roston Chase and  Virat Kohli

    The men to watch out for

    Kohli & Chase: The men to watch out for

    Roston Chase didn’t have a great beginning to this tour, but he made amends for that in the second Test as he single-handedly led a fightback for the West Indies before the likes of Blackwood and Dowrich joined in.

    After bowling the maximum number of overs among his teammates, the right-hander from Barbados stayed put at the crease for almost six hours, leaving deliveries and frustrating the Ishant Sharmas. His efforts with the bat yielded 137 runs at a strike-rate of 50.92, while his 36 overs of off-break were rewarded with a five-wicket haul.

    Considering Gros Islet plays true to its nature, there remains enough opportunity for Chase to cement his place in the playing XI as a consistent middle-order batsman whom skipper Holder can look up to in case of top order collapses.

    None in international cricket – not even Joe Root – has been in a more sublime form that Virat Kohli of late. A double hundred at Antigua in the first Test showed the kind of dedication and perseverance the man harnesses inside.

    KOHLI'S TEST RECORD VS WI

    • Matches: 8
    • Runs: 495 @ 45.00
    • 50s: 3, 100s: 1
    • HS: 200

    On a surface as batting friendly as this, the only way to dismiss Kohli would be to run him out, unless he facilitates his downfall with an uncharacteristic lapse of judgment. Dogged and aggressive, the Indian skipper has a penchant for dominating opposition bowlers, piling up massive scores in the process.

    As India looks to seal the series at the Darren Sammy Stadium, Kohli remains the cynosure with his complete batting package and shrewd captaincy.

    TEAMS

    West Indies

    A change in the opening slot is a certainty, now that Hope has been recalled into the Test squad and Chandrika left out. West Indies has little to experiment in the other places, despite their top order not performing up to expectations.

    Apart from Chase, Blackwood and Dowrich are expected to shine once again on a surface bearing no demons for wielders of the willow. However, Holder might feel the scarcity of spinning options, given how inconspicuous the pacers have been so far, but that issue can hardly be addressed considering the lack of quality in the reserve bench.

    Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, Miguel Cummins, Devendra Bishoo

    India

    Murali Vijay’s recovery from thumb injury remains a concern for the team, but should he be fit on Tuesday, there is absolutely no reason why Kohli would sit him out. His inclusion, however, would cast a shadow on KL Rahul’s place in the team.

    While playing Rahul, who scored an awe-inspiring 158 in the second Test, ahead of Pujara at No. 3 seems unlikely, the Indian skipper does like to pull off a few surprises on the day of the match.

    Another change to mull over comes on the back of Amit Mishra’s hapless performance in the second innings at Jamaica. The return of Ravindra Jadeja appears to be a luring option, especially because the southpaw boasts of better batting credentials than Mishra and is known to break nagging partnerships every once in a while.

    Having said that, India may opt for three spinners on the brownish deck, in which case, Umesh Yadav might be the one sitting out.

    Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul/Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav/Ravindra Jadeja

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