🏏 India vs West Indies: 1st Test at Roseau: Day 3 - 14/07/23 Pg 66🏏

India tour of West Indies 2023

🏏1st Test: 12th July to 16th July 2023 at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica at 7:30 PM IST🏏

Twelve years after India last played a Test match in Dominica, they return for a series-opener where the focus will largely be on the new personnel that will be driving their World Test Championship campaign.

Having finished as the runners-up twice in the competition, there have been a few bold calls made by the selectors in picking the squad.

On the eve of the Test, skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed that they'd have a debutant opener and new No. 3 coming in.

With Yashasvi Jaiswal set to open, given India's requirement of a left-hander, and the move to have Gill in the middler-order gives the batting order a new look. Additionally, the performances of this duo in those slots will be imperative for India to help solve a batting problem that has persisted for a while. The line-up has been particularly poor against pace over the last three years, as the records suggest, with the dwindling form of the likes of Virat Kohli looming large as they attempt to fix a faltering middle-order.

The batting concerns mirror those of the home side as well, which showed up in South Africa earlier this year and has forced them to have a rethink. However, despite the changes, the batting order bookended by two veterans in Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder, remains heavily dependent on their performances. The series offers others in the ranks another opportunity to step up and match up to the riches that their pace attack otherwise provides for the team.

Their potency in Tests, particularly at home, has largely been down to the pace exploits led by Kemar Roach, with Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph, adding more firepower. And it is a facet that India's transitioning team will look to emulate.

In the absence of Mohammed Shami, the mantle of lead pacer belongs to the ever-improving Mohammad Siraj. Nevertheless, the focus will be trained towards the next line of attack where there is an element of rawness that has the potential to even up the match-up between the sides over the course of two Tests.

West Indies vs India Pitch Report

The pitch at Windsor Park in Dominica is expected to behave like a traditional test cricket surface. There will be some lateral movement available for the seamers on Day 1, while the batters are expected to dominate the proceedings on Day 2 and Day 3 of the match.

The surface is expected to slow down as the game progresses, and the spinners will play a vital role in deciding the outcome of the game on the last two days of the game. The average first innings score at the venue is 250-270.

West Indies vs India Weather Forecast

Rain Showers and Thunderstorms are predicted in Dominica on the first and last day of the match. Temperatures are expected to range between 26 to 30 degree celsius with the humidity in the 70s.

What to expect: Historically, the venue has favoured spin bowling (87 wkts, 23.35 Avg, 48.5 SR) more than pace (80 wkts, 28.43 Avg, 68.5 SR). The possibility of a few showers according to weather forecasts could also influence selection calls.

Team News

India

With Rohit confirming on certain positions in the batting order as well as including a second spinner, the other questions that remain would be over the choice of the wicket-keeper and the seam combination. Jaydev Unadkat's left-arm variation could place him ahead of others, with India's batting depth stretching to run until No. 8.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat/Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini

West Indies

After lacklustre outings against South Africa on their tour there earlier, West Indies have dropped big names such as Roston Chase which could pave the way for debutant Alick Althanaze as a batter while his offspin duties could be transferred to Rahkeem Cornwall, who hasn't featured in a Test in over two years.

Probable XI: Kraigg Brathwaite, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Reifer, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Althanaze, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Rahkeem Cornwall, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

Did you know?

-No Indian batter in their current squad has as many Test hundreds as the four that R Ashwin has against West Indies

-Ajinkya Rahane has 3 fifties and 2 hundreds in 8 innings in West Indies

- Rohit Sharma's average of 36.59 is India's best against fast bowling in Tests since 2020

(Stats inputs by Roshan Gede)

This feels like a pivotal year for Rohit Sharma. He already seems to have been phased out in T20 cricket. And the way India perform under his captaincy in the upcoming ODI World Cup may well determine how long he continues in that format. So Tests are, all of a sudden, looking like his most stable source of game time, especially after that bumper tour of England in 2021 where his defence was almost on par with his offence. India take pride in winning away from home and as an opening batter, Rohit has the chance to lay the foundations for that.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul began his Test career by staring down the might of the Australian bowling attack on their own turf. It didn't take a lot of time for him to put the lessons he learned on that tour to good use, scoring a double-century in his third match. The 27-year-old has his father's stance and more importantly his hunger as well. Now to see if he has Shivnarine's fondness (seven centuries at an average of 63.85) for Indian bowlers.

i wasnt even done catching up with the old threads yet🥺

Stats and trivia

• India's pace attack on the Test tour of the West Indies carries a total experience of 88 Test wickets between them; Mohammed Siraj, the leader of the pack, has 52.
• West Indies have played five Tests at Windsor Park but have won only one of them.

Quotes

"Looking at the wicket, I think we might go in with two spinners and three seamers. The last Test match played here was in 2017 and the spinners picked a lot of the wickets (18 of 38). Having trained here for days, we noticed there has been a lot of bounce. Think we will play a 3-2 combination."

India captain Rohit Sharma

For once a match timing that people in US can follow and dont have to mess up sleep cycle. 🤣

Instead its the Indians who would be having problems. 🤪