India vs West Indies 2016: 5 key player battles

India will kick off their series in the Caribbean with the first Test against the West Indies from July 21 at Antigua. This will be an interesting series for the visitors as it will be the first time that Indian legend Anil Kumble, who has taken over as the head coach, will be at the helm.

The Kumble-Kohli partnership which many expect will bring a great many laurels to the nation will be under the scanner for the first time in the series. The West Indies on the other hand, though lacking the force of the yesteryears, will surely be a force to contend with on their home turf.

The Tests promise to be long, hard-fought affairs and will be entertaining, to say the least. Here are five key player battles that might well decide the series.

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Shannon Gabriel vs Murali Vijay

Once considered the Mecca of promising fast bowlers, it is unthinkable that the West Indies should go into a Test series with only one pure fast bowler in their ranks. The era of tall, fiery West Indian quicks who struck terror in the hearts of the opposition seems to be well over for now.

But Shannon Gabriel, included as the only pure fast bowler in the squad against India, is a throwback to the yesteryears. Tall, sturdy and quick, Gabriel can bowl fast and trouble any batsman on his day.

He will be up against Murali Vijay, the Indian opener who has firmly established himself as a quality Test opener in the recent years. Someone who cannot be tempted easily, the Monk as he is known has a propensity for playing long, solid knocks at the top of the order.

Vijay versus Gabriel will automatically be one of the contests to watch out for.

Jason Holder vs Virat Kohli

The lanky West Indian captain will have a lot on his plate when his team hosts India on their home turf. One of the finest all-rounders in the longest format of the game, Holder is a thinking captain and a bowler.

More than pace, he relies on his brain to bowl intelligently and extract lateral movement off the pitch. Given the fact that Virat Kohli is expected to play long knocks throughout the series, Holder might well be the key bowler during longer sessions in the afternoon.

Kohli, on the other hand, has been on a dream run this year and will take some stopping in this series. He is expected to continue doing the good work but will have to contend with the guile of Jason Holder. The clash between the two captains is a mouth-watering prospect for this series.

Ravichandran Ashwin vs Darren Bravo

Of all the top order batsmen, the West Indies will be heavily relying on Darren Bravo to score big in the series. Exuding style and panache, Bravo's drives through the offside with his stylish backlift easily reminds one of the legendary Brain Lara.

One of the more experienced West Indian batsmen in the series, Bravo has the propensity of scoring big hundreds which is why India need to attack him early. But like most left-handers, Bravo has been troubled by quality off-spinners who can get the ball to spin away from his bat.

This will automatically set up Bravo against Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin has been one of the leading wicket-takers for India across all formats of the game in the recent years. Though he has had a slump in form this year so far, Ashwin will be raring to go against Bravo with men around his bat.

The Bravo versus Ashwin battle might well be one of the deciding factors in the series as Bravo can easily take the game away from India if he gets in.

Ravindra Jadeja vs Marlon Samuels

The most experienced batsman in the West Indies squad for this tour is Marlon Samuels. Though he looks extremely clueless and un-gamely at times, Samuels has a knack of hurting oppositions once he gets in.

He can also score big runs at a fast pace, often counter-attacking the opposition in the process. A good example was his match-winning knock against India in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 2016. India will, therefore, be extremely wary of Samuels' abilities once he gets in.

He is, however, vulnerable during the early part of his innings against the ball that goes away from the bat. This will set him up against Ravindra Jadeja who with his leg-spin can be more than a handful for Samuels.

Jadeja has been going through a poor run of form and is no longer the automatic choice alongside Ashwin, especially in the shorter formats of the game. He will, therefore, be dying to work himself into form and the most experienced right-hander in the opposition may well be his perfect victim.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Carlos Brathwaite

When he slammed those famous four sixes in that last over against England, a star by the name of Carlos Brathwaite was born during the ICC World T20 2016 this year. Many will argue that Brathwaite the batsman is not as effective in the longest format of the game and he is more in the team as a bowling all-rounder.

It cannot be denied that Brathwaite's all-round skills make him more than a handy cricketer but his batting prowess cannot be denied. Coming down the order, Brathwaite the batsman is someone to watch out for as he can get quick runs in hostile conditions and change the match fast.

It would take an insane amount of courage to deploy spinners against him and fast bowlers might well be the wiser option. Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be the bowler to trouble Brathwaite and stop him from running away with the game.

Kumar has come back leaner, stronger and hungrier -- he has been clocking speeds of 140-plus along with the swing to go through it. He has traditionally troubled dangerous batsmen with his swing and his ability to extract reverse swing with the older ball will particularly come in handy against Brathwaite.