4 takeaways from the India v West Indies Test series
India started their ICC World Test Championship campaign on a positive note by bagging 120 points as they whitewashed hosts West Indies in the two-match Test series. India completely dominated the series as West Indies looked clueless against the No.1 Test team.
There were many positives for India while for West Indies, their campaign was compounded by a whole lot of issues. For India, the likes of Hanuma Vihari and Jasprit Bumrah were absolutely brilliant. Vihari finished as the leading run-scorer from the series while Bumrah picked up the most wickets for a bowler from either side.
For West Indies, it was only the fast bowlers who delivered whereas the batsmen put up a disappointing performance. Only one of their batsmen crossed the fifty-run mark, which is certainly a worrying sign for them.
India have an important home Test series against South Africa coming up and would look to build on the momentum which they have carried on all through their trip to the Caribbean. In this article, we have a look at four takeaways from the India-West Indies Test series.
#4 Question marks over KL Rahul’s position
101 runs in four innings at an average of 25.25 are the numbers which KL Rahul has managed to notch up from the series against West Indies. In the last 28 Test innings, he averages only 21.85, which is not up to the mark at this level.
In the second innings of the second Test, Rahul looked uncomfortable during his stay as he scored only 6 runs from 63 balls. Rahul brings a lot of promise along with his talent but has not been able to convert his starts into big scores and this inconsistency has left a big question mark over his selection in the team.
With Prithvi Shaw missing from action and the selectors deciding to look beyond Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, there aren’t many options for the team management. There are murmurs about Rohit Sharma opening the batting in Tests but that might not be the right idea as he has struggled against swing and seam.
If KL Rahul isn’t delivering then the selectors might as well take a look at youngsters waiting in the wings such as Priyank Panchal or even Shubman Gill. It remains to see who occupies the spot at the top of the order against South Africa.
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