Venue: Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad
The odds firmly rest in favour of the tourists as India’s Caribbean campaign comes to a head with the final Test of the series. The intent that seemed to have left them during the later half of the second Test, was back in the India camp last time out as they sealed a series-deciding victory in the third Test courtesy of some impressive fast bowling.
The fact that India managed to stamp their authority and win the match in spite of losing an entire day to the weather demonstrates the kind of domination Virat Kohli’s men have enjoyed so far.
If India, as expected, overcome a listless looking West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval on Thursday, an historic 3-0 victory will not only better their win-loss record at the venue, but also establish them as the No. 1 ranked team in the ICC Test rankings.
BIG PICTURE
Inconsistency continues to haunt the West Indian batting order, with experienced campaigners Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo struggling for consistency. Jermaine Blackwood – with scores of 0, 0, 62, 63, 20, 1 – is another case in point.
The bowlers haven’t fared any better either. Their collective bowling average of 46.11 in this series is only the eighth occasion a combined West Indies attack has managed a 40 or worse average in a home series. The average rises to 65.17 if you exclude Miguel Cummins’ superb 6-48 in the last match. Skipper Jason Holder – himself having picked up a solitary wicket in 86.4 overs – has ample issues to worry about with both bat and ball.
The Indians, understandably, are buoyant after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead and they have ample reason to be chipper. As many as five batsmen – Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha – have scored in excess of 200 runs at over 50. Looking particularly rosy among those batters is Rahane, who is in sublime touch and averages 121.50 in the series so far.
VENUE
The Queen’s Park Oval has been a happy hunting ground for the Windies
The Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, is popular for being one of the most beautiful venues in the world. India have played 12 Tests here, winning 3, losing 3 and drawing the remaining 6. However, Thursday is going to mark India’s first Test visit to Trinidad for 14 years.
This pitch has been traditionally favoured spin over seam, once a rarity in the West Indies but now becoming more and more commonplace.
Wednesday morning welcomed the groundsmen with a lot of grass and a few dry spots at both ends. Pitch curator Ronald Faria, however, insisted that the grass will be cut off and the viewers can expect an even battle between bat and ball. According to Faria, the track will offer enough spin and bounce, but will also be a good one to bat on during the first three days.
WATCH OUT FOR – Roston Chase and Ravichandran Ashwin
Players to watch out for: Roston Chase & R Ashwin
Although Roston Chase failed to deliver with the bat in the third Test, he did chip in with the ball. Three wickets in two innings may not seem much, but considering the struggles of his team-mates – bar Cummins – against a solid Indian line-up, the wickets of KL Rahul, Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan stand out.
Chase’s off-spin should come in handy once the surface begins to break up but the major concern will be that India will be beyond their hosts by the time that happens.
With two centuries already in the series, Ashwin has justified his position as the leading all-rounder in Test cricket.
His runs have come at crucial junctures under intense pressure, a quality that speaks volumes about his class and temperament as a cricketer. Ashwin also has 16 wickets to his credit, and with the Trinidad surface being expected to offer assistance to spinners, the off-spinner may once again ring the death knell for the Caribbean team in tandem with Ravindra Jadeja.
TEAMS
West Indies
Leon Johnson fell short of justifying his inclusion in the playing XI with scores of 23 and 0 at Gros Islet. While he deserves another go in the final Test, the West Indian think-tank may ultimately decide in favor of 22-year-old Shai Hope whose century for the WICB President’s XI against India in the first warm-up match resulted in his call-up to the national side ahead of the third Test.
Spinner Devendra Bishoo may also get a look-in if Holder decides to modify his team according to the conditions on offer. He is likely to come in at the expense of pacer Shannon Gabriel who has been pretty ineffective despite sporadic instances of brilliance.
Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Miguel Cummins, Devendra Bishoo
India
India’s previous two tours outside Asia saw Murali Vijay amassing 482 runs at 60.25 against Australia and 402 runs at 40.20 against England. No wonder, it came as a surprise when Kohli decided to rest him in the third Test despite Vijay having recovered from his thumb injury. Come tomorrow, it remains to be seen whether India persists with the inconspicuous Dhawan or restores Vijay at the top of the order.
Another change to be mulled over is the replacement of fast-bowlers Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma. Shami has recently returned to international cricket after nursing injuries for months while Sharma has shouldered the responsibility of being the workhorse for quite some time now. With a grueling Test calendar awaiting India, resting the injury-prone pacers appear to be a prudent option, especially with the series already sealed.
Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma