India vs Windies 2018: 1st Test Match, Rajkot - Preview

India will play a Test match at home after a long time. The last time they had turned out in whites while playing in their own conditions was against Sri Lanka. Subsequently, they had to deal with two disappointing foreign tours of South Africa and England. However, they will like to get back to winning ways in their own den. In fact, there is no doubt that India is a force to reckon with when they turn out to play on their own turf.

Meanwhile, the two-Test match series against Windies will be a fine preparation to get some confidence for the forthcoming Australian tour. Thus, all the eyes will be on the kind of pitches, India will prepare. They had received good pitches while playing in England. Consequently, they would like to prepare some hard and bouncy pitches to take the correct first right step towards the Australian tour.

India will aim to fill in the missing gaps in the batting department.

India’s think tank will know that preparing dust bowls will be of no use against the depleted Windies side. Hence, they should try to make a pitch which has pace and bounce in it, much likes the ones they are likely to encounter in the Aussie conditions.

On the other hand, the Windies are not the side who is at the top of the prowess. However, making a mistake of taking your opponent lightly is the last thing you want to do in any kind of sports. Thus, India will be well aware of the fact to respect their visitors.

There is no doubt that the Carribean nation will depend on Shai Hope. The right-hander is going to provide Windies with all the hope in this series. Meanwhile, the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite is going to hold the key. However, the tourists are going to miss the services of Kemar Roach who has returned back home in Barbados after the demise of his grandmother.

Prithvi Shaw will make his debut.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is going to return to the side after taking a break for the Asia Cup. India will like to test its bench strength as they have given chance to some new faces.

One of the boxes that India failed to tick on the England tour was the batting line-up. The selectors have put their weight behind Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal. Thus, it would be a great opportunity for these two batsmen to grab their opportunity with both hands. There are some gaps in the Indian batting and the think tank will like to fill them as soon as possible before they Jett off to Australia.

In fact, there would be some chances for the fast bowlers as well. Mohammed Siraj has also received his maiden Test squad call-up. Thus, the Hyderabad pacer will be looking forward to his chance. Shardul Thakur is also in the side. The Mumbai fast bowler has proved to be expensive in the limited overs format and he would like to make the most of his opportunity as well.

Windies will need to put their best performance.

On the other hand, Windies will know that they will have their work cut out against Indian juggernauts. However, Jason Holder will be telling his boys that the first thing you got to do to win, is to believe you can win. It is all about been mentally positive.

Consequently, the tourists must go out there and express themselves. They are the underdogs which take out the pressure of their shoulders. However, they must be prepared to pull their socks and will have to play out of their skin to cause an upset against India while playing in the Indian conditions.

India has already named its playing XI.

Date and Time: 4 October 2018, 9:30 AM IST.

Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.

India’s Playing XI: Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav.

Windies Predicted Playing XI:  Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Sunil Ambris, Jason Holder (c), Devendra Bishoo, Shannon Gabriel, Keemo Paul.

Stats:

Cheteshwar Pujara has scored 4809 runs in his Test career. Therefore, he needs another 191 runs to complete his 5000 runs.

Virat Kohli has scored 502 runs while playing against the Windies. He needs another 37 runs to go past Mohammed Azharuddin tally of 539 runs.