4 takeaways from the India v West Indies Test series

India started their ICC World Test Championship campaign on a positive note by bagging 120 points as they whitewashed hosts West Indies in the two-match Test series. India completely dominated the series as West Indies looked clueless against the No.1 Test team.

There were many positives for India while for West Indies, their campaign was compounded by a whole lot of issues. For India, the likes of Hanuma Vihari and Jasprit Bumrah were absolutely brilliant. Vihari finished as the leading run-scorer from the series while Bumrah picked up the most wickets for a bowler from either side.

For West Indies, it was only the fast bowlers who delivered whereas the batsmen put up a disappointing performance. Only one of their batsmen crossed the fifty-run mark, which is certainly a worrying sign for them.

India have an important home Test series against South Africa coming up and would look to build on the momentum which they have carried on all through their trip to the Caribbean. In this article, we have a look at four takeaways from the India-West Indies Test series.

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#4 Question marks over KL Rahul’s position

Kl Rahul had a poor outing in West Indies

101 runs in four innings at an average of 25.25 are the numbers which KL Rahul has managed to notch up from the series against West Indies. In the last 28 Test innings, he averages only 21.85, which is not up to the mark at this level.

In the second innings of the second Test, Rahul looked uncomfortable during his stay as he scored only 6 runs from 63 balls. Rahul brings a lot of promise along with his talent but has not been able to convert his starts into big scores and this inconsistency has left a big question mark over his selection in the team.

With Prithvi Shaw missing from action and the selectors deciding to look beyond Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, there aren’t many options for the team management. There are murmurs about Rohit Sharma opening the batting in Tests but that might not be the right idea as he has struggled against swing and seam.

If KL Rahul isn’t delivering then the selectors might as well take a look at youngsters waiting in the wings such as Priyank Panchal or even Shubman Gill. It remains to see who occupies the spot at the top of the order against South Africa.

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#3 Hanuma Vihari is here to stay

Hanauma Vihari was the leading run-scorer in the series

Before the Test series started, there was stiff competition for the spot of an extra batsman between Hanuma Vihari and Rohit Sharma. On the back of some decent performances, Vihari landed the spot and he repaid the faith shown in him with some crucial knocks.

Vihari ended the series as the leading run-scorer with 289 runs from four innings at an average of 96.33 that included his maiden Test hundred and two well-compiled half-centuries.

He showed great composure under pressure. He delivered whenever the team needed him to stand up to a challenge. He has the technique and the temperament to succeed at the highest level. Not only that, he also exhibited his ability to play a long knock and stitched an important partnership with Ishant Sharma.

Vihari’s top show from the Test series could certainly see him seal a spot in the squad for the series against South Africa at home.

#2 Ajinkya Rahane – Form is temporary but class is permanent

Ajinkya Rahane came back in form with his tenth Test hundred!

Ajinkya Rahane silenced all his critics with a brilliant show in the two-match Test series against West Indies. Before the series began, there were talks about Rahane unable to score enough runs but now all those talks have slowly been blown away by Rahane's performances.

India’s No.5 scored 271 runs from four innings at an average of 90.33 which included his tenth Test century apart from two half-centuries. In the first Test, he came into bat when India were in trouble at 25-3 and scored a gritty 81. Again, in the second innings, he was among the runs as he bought up his tenth Test century.

In the second Test, Rahane scored an important half-century in the second innings, after coming in at a situation when India were struggling at 36-3. Through all these knocks, Rahane managed to give rise to one important note - his form may be temporary, but his class is permanent.

#1 Jasprit Bumrah is a superstar

Jasprit Bumrah is a must in all three formats!

In the last six to eight months, Jasprit Bumrah was indicating that he was certain to manifest into one of India's best ever pacers, owing to some fantastic performances with the ball.

Now, after a mind-boggling performance against the West Indies, Bumrah is arguably the most important player in the team alongside Virat Kohli. Bumrah finished the series with 12 wickets from just two games, including two five-wicket hauls and more importantly, a hat-trick. Notably, there was a phase between the first and the second Test where he picked up 11 wickets in 17 overs.

In the first Test, he got wickets by bowling inswingers to the left-handers and then in the second Test, Bumrah adapted to the situations extremely well as he picked up wickets with some clinical outswingers and troubled the left-handers in the visitors' batting lineup.

In just 12 Tests, Bumrah has picked up 62 wickets and that too against high-quality oppositions. His numbers are a testament to the fact that he can blow away good quality sides with some top-flight pace bowling and is one of the best pacers in the modern era.