The second Test between Team India – the number one ranked side in the ICC Test match rankings – and West Indies, the eighth-ranked side begins at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad from Friday, 12 October.
The Indian team, already up 1-0 in the two-Test series, will look to undefeated run at the venue; India have played four Tests at the venue and while the inaugural Test match against New Zealand ended in a stalemate, the home team has emerged victors in last three contests by huge margins.
In the aftermath of the one-sided Test match in Rajkot, the question being asked by Test cricket fans is not if there will be a marked improvement in the West Indies’ performance or if they can challenge Team India, but if they will be able to force the Test match into the FOURTH day.
The West Indies’ recent results in India make for dismal reading; each of their last three Test matches – scheduled as 5-day contests – concluded on the third afternoon or a little earlier.
In fact, India-West Indies Tests are among the most lop-sided contests in recent times. An analysis of completed Tests in this decade reveals that on an average, an India-West Indies Test lasts just under four days.
Hopeful Return for West Indies
Watching the West Indies crumble in Rajkot, one couldn’t help but feel sad. Sorry even, given their rich history, they were completely clueless, rudderless because they didn’t have their regular captain, and the players didn’t look motivated enough and were not prepared to put in the hard yards.
The head coach Stuart Law – who should have been guiding his charges from the dressing room – has put in his papers and one wonders if he has any motivation left; that reflected on the lack of direction from the dressing room was evident when the West Indies drifted away and in the tactics employed on the second morning.
The visitors are likely to be bolstered by the return of their captain Jason Holder – who, one expects would have recovered from his ankle injury, and will be further boosted by the return of pace spearhead Kemar Roach. One hopes the inclusion of the experienced duo will translate to a much-improved performance on the field.
West Indies likely XI
Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Sunil Ambris, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo, and Shannon Gabriel.
No Cap for Mayank Agarwal
The Indian team management named an unchanged 12 for the Hyderabad Test meaning no Test cap for Mayank Agarwal.
One imagines the selectors would have hoped to field both Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal in the second Test; but with KL Rahul being the only Indian batsman to miss out on runs in Rajkot – they must be wondering how to get Mayank into the XI. It would be unreasonable to expect the team management to leave Prithvi Shaw out of the XI – especially after his dazzling century on debut in Rajkot. And now the team management cannot leave KL Rahul out too – for the 26-year old too needs runs against his name before the challenging tour of Australia.
The two players who must be extremely excited at the prospect of playing at the RGICS in Hyderabad are Cheteshwar Pujara and R Ashwin; Pujara has amassed 500 runs in the three Tests he has played at the venue, while Ashwin has picked up 24 wickets in the three Tests he’s played at the RGICS.
India’s 12
Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur.
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