India vs West Indies 2018: 4 things to look forward to in the upcoming Test series

The last time West Indies played a Test series in India, the emotions ran high as Sachin Tendulkar bid adieu and called it time on a fabulous 24-year career. The 2-match series lasted a mere 5 days as the Windies just didn’t put up any sort of resistance or fight.

It’s been more than 16 years since West Indies beat India in a Test match (home or away). In fact, their last Test win in India came way back in 1994. However, they’ve been in decent form in the lead up to this series. In 2018, they’ve won 3 out of the 5 Test matches and have played some really good cricket. On the other hand, India recently lost 1-4 in England and there have been a lot of questions surrounding the Test side since that tour.

Hence, with this 2-match Test series slated to begin tomorrow (October 4th), what are the things to forward to? What can we expect from this series?

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#4 India’s one eye on the tour to Australia

“We will not take the Windies side lightly. We would like to focus on our positives and improve our performance. As a team, it is important to see how we can improve our game,” India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said in the press conference a couple of days before the start of the 2-Test series.

India will do well not to take West Indies lightly. However, one eye will definitely be on the Australian tour. India are scheduled to tour Australia in late November where they will play 3 T20Is first before playing the 4-match Test series (Border-Gavaskar Trophy) and finally concluding with 3 ODIs.

Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri and the team management will definitely want the players to be prepared for some tough conditions in Australia. They will want the youngsters who have come in recently to get adjusted to the team dynamics and the environment quickly.

The combination India goes in with will be very interesting. Two spinners and two pacers are constant, but will they play a third spinner or give someone like Hanuma Vihari a go at 6 before the Australian tour? Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be back playing together and will fight for the spinner’s slot when India travel to Australia. Hence, lots of questions to be answered in this 2-match series for the team management.

#3 Windies’ pace attack

There used to be a time when the world feared the Windies’ pace attack. West Indies have produced some of the finest pacers of all time. But with time, that faded away. Suddenly, the West Indian pace attack is once again one of the talking points.

In the recently concluded home season (where West Indies played 5 Tests – 2 against Bangladesh and 3 against Sri Lanka), the pacers accounted for 84 wickets (out of 96). Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder have been excellent and have consistently troubled the opposition. These three have combined to take 72 out of the 84 wickets taken by the pacers (Gabriel – 28, Holder – 28, Roach - 16).

Though Roach is not available for the first Test, Windies have decent backup in the form of Keemo Paul and Sherman Lewis. Hence, the Windies pace attack will be one to watch out for.

#2 Can the Windies better their record against India?

It took India close to two and a half decades to register their first Test win against West Indies. Their first win came in 1971 and they enjoyed a nice run in the 1970s as they beat 5 times. There came another period where the Windies dominated as India failed to beat them for close to 10 years (1979-1988).

However, it’s been a completely one-sided affair since 2002. In the last 16 years, India have played West Indies in 19 Test matches and have won 10 of them with 7 of them coming in this decade. West Indies have just meekly surrendered on most occasions. Windies have faced 4 innings defeats against India in this decade (since 2010).

West Indies’ last Test win came in December 1994 when Jimmy Adams’ excellent show with the bat helped them square the 3-match Test series 1-1 in the third and final Test.

Hence, the question is can Windies find inspiration from somewhere and produce brilliance? Can they cause a huge upset and disrupt India’s plans before their highly anticipated Australian tour? They have a quality team and they surprised England last year and have been playing good red-ball cricket in recent times.

#1 Who are the Indian openers?

The Indian openers have struggled big time overseas. Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay have been shown the door after their poor show in England.

Dhawan, who has an excellent record at home, played 4 Tests in England and failed miserably. Vijay was dropped after the first two Tests and was sent home mid-way through the series. KL Rahul is the lone survivor from that series. He struck a magnificent second innings century (149) in the last Test at the Oval.

On the back of some excellent and consistent domestic and India ‘A’ performances, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw have been called up. But the big question is who will open alongside KL Rahul?

Both Shaw and Agarwal have been amongst the runs. While Shaw blazed his way through 2 fifties and 1 hundred in the three games he played for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Agarwal’s form has been one of the talking points over the last 12 months. He sent a timely notice to the selectors with a solid 90 against West Indies in the recently concluded 2-day practice game.

So, who will it be? Will the more experienced Mayank Agarwal get a chance or will it be Prithvi Shaw who was India’s back up opener for the last two Tests in England? The team management has a tough decision to make.