A confident India, with a new coach at the helm, will seek to record a third consecutive Test series triumph on the Caribbean soil when the Virat Kohli-led side clashes with an inexperienced West Indies in the first cricket match, in Antigua, on Thursday.
The Test will herald a new chapter in Indian cricket history as the team will take the field for the first time under new coach Anil Kumble’s guidance.
India's Test ranking has long been based on their formidable home form but the side aim to impress Kumble by showing they can adapt to conditions outside the subcontinent in a four-Test against West Indies.
For the hosts, however, the task is more straightforward -- simply proving they can still be competitive in the long form of the game.
Since last touring West Indies in 2011, when they ground out a 1-0 Test series victory (with two draws), India have lost six consecutive series outside of Asia – two each in England and Australia and one each in South Africa and New Zealand.
Their record in that time is one win, 15 defeats and five draws. That does not include a 2-1 series victory in nearby Sri Lanka last year, where conditions are typically similar to those encountered at home.
Former leg-spinner Kumble was recently appointed head coach of the Indians, who are second behind Australia in the Test rankings, after pitching a plan to fix that miserable away record.
He has introduced a new bonding spirit in the dressing room, and lifted morale through numerous group activities, thus ensuring a seamless transition from Ravi Shastri’s tenure as team director.
And while he has already moved to tighten discipline, introducing a fine of $50 for being late, he shies away from being branded a strict disciplinarian.
More than three weeks have passed since the legendary leg-spinner assumed charge of the squad. Over this period, he has led the team through a preparatory camp and overseen two practice matches in St. Kitts last week.
As such the focus now completely shifts to the field, where the Indian players will try to put in action the plans laid out by their new coach. In doing so, skipper Virat Kohli will aim to complete a hat trick of Test series wins in the Caribbean, after Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni led their sides to victory in 2007 and 2011, respectively.
Also, Kohli will be hoping to win a third successive Test series, after beating Sri Lanka 2-1 away and South Africa 3-0 at home, both last year.
It will be easier said than done though. For, the slow pitches in the West Indies will test his team’s resolve. The wickets laid out in St. Kitts for the two practice matches had good bounce, but slow turn for the spinners and very little by way of movement for the pacers.
It is expected to be a continuing trend though the four-Test series, although the pitch for this first Test seemed to throw up a surprise.
Various members of the squad, as well as support staff, have pointed out in the build-up that even a little grass would not alter the slow nature of the wickets. Thus, it can be expected that Amit Mishra will be picked ahead of Stuart Binny, should Kohli opt for five bowlers.
At the same time, it remains to be seen who will partner Ishant Sharma, a fit-again Mohammad Shami, or Umesh Yadav, who did well against both Sri Lanka and South Africa in Shami’s absence.
Selecting five bowlers also clears up the way for Rohit Sharma to be benched again, with the Mumbai batsman sitting out of the second warm-up match previously as well.
He was among five players who showed up for optional practice two days before the Test, the others being Binny, Mishra, Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul. In a way, these are the names vying for two spots in the playing eleven.
While Mishra should edge out both Rohit and Binny, it will be a huge surprise if the team management considers replacing Pujara with Rahul at number three. A strong indicator of this is also seen in pairing of the two batsmen during net sessions, a new practice set in place by the new coaching regime.
While Pujara-Rahul were practising together, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan were busy in the adjacent nets.
Time and again, it has been proven that net practice isn’t a firm indicator of team selection. Yet, statistics somehow unbalance this equation. For sample, ever since his return to number three in the four Tests against South Africa, Pujara only averaged 33.66 over six innings in home conditions.
While that was almost nine months ago, of-late Rahul has been in good form, getting runs at will in limited-overs while also scoring two half-centuries in the tour matches here. It begs the question, if the team management is desperate to field an in-form player.
While the visitors will be worrying about a problem of plenty, West Indies will be looking at their 13-man squad for some experience. Darren Bravo (42) and Marlon Samuels (64 Tests) have played 100-plus Tests between them, but both have been beset with lack of consistency at various points in their careers.
Skipper Jason Holder will be hoping his two senior-most batsmen can put their hand up, while he looks set to pick an inexperienced batting line-up comprising of Jermaine Blackwood (15 Tests) and Rajendra Chandrika (3 Tests).
Blackwood was impressive in both innings of the second practice match in St. Kitts, but facing the three Indian spinners bowling in tandem during a Test should be a different prospect. As such, much responsibility will lie on the shoulders of Bravo and Samuels, particularly the latter who is the most capped batsman on either side.
Only Ishant Sharma (68 Tests) has played more matches than him, and this is another area where team India holds the edge. Comparing the two bowling attacks, West Indies look set to field only one spinner in Devendra Bishoo, with fast bowler Shannon Gabriel looking for support from uncapped Miguel Cummins, Carlos Brathwaite and Holder himself.
Head-to-head then, the visitors hold the advantage. But it is no secret that West Indies play their best cricket when on the back-foot. And they will be raring to go at a venue dedicated to one of their all-time great cricketers.
Kumble could hardly ask for a better chance to start the job on a winning note than against a West Indies team weakened by administrative conflict and the unavailability of several key players, with fast bowler Jerome Taylor the latest to retire from the Test format.
While West Indies excel in the Twenty20 format, they are eighth of nine nations in the Test rankings, ahead only of minnows Bangladesh.
Kumble has stressed his team must demonstrate patience throughout the series, a sentiment shared by West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite.
"We expect to face a lot of spin against the Indians in this series, so it is about playing the waiting game," said Brathwaite, who blasted four sixes in a row against England to seal West Indies' World Twenty20 triumph in April.
"We need to look to spend long periods at the crease so we are preaching that in the dressing room."
After the first Test in Antigua, the remaining tests will be played in Jamaica (July 30- Aug. 3), St Lucia (Aug. 9-13) and Trinidad (Aug. 18-22).
SQUADS:
West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajendra Chandrika, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Leon Johnson, Marlon Samuels
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, Lokesh Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Rohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma
Match starts at: 7.30 pm
