India vs West Indies 2018: 4 things to look forward to in the upcoming Test series
The last time West Indies played a Test series in India, the emotions ran high as Sachin Tendulkar bid adieu and called it time on a fabulous 24-year career. The 2-match series lasted a mere 5 days as the Windies just didn’t put up any sort of resistance or fight.
It’s been more than 16 years since West Indies beat India in a Test match (home or away). In fact, their last Test win in India came way back in 1994. However, they’ve been in decent form in the lead up to this series. In 2018, they’ve won 3 out of the 5 Test matches and have played some really good cricket. On the other hand, India recently lost 1-4 in England and there have been a lot of questions surrounding the Test side since that tour.
Hence, with this 2-match Test series slated to begin tomorrow (October 4th), what are the things to forward to? What can we expect from this series?
#4 India’s one eye on the tour to Australia
“We will not take the Windies side lightly. We would like to focus on our positives and improve our performance. As a team, it is important to see how we can improve our game,” India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said in the press conference a couple of days before the start of the 2-Test series.
India will do well not to take West Indies lightly. However, one eye will definitely be on the Australian tour. India are scheduled to tour Australia in late November where they will play 3 T20Is first before playing the 4-match Test series (Border-Gavaskar Trophy) and finally concluding with 3 ODIs.
Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri and the team management will definitely want the players to be prepared for some tough conditions in Australia. They will want the youngsters who have come in recently to get adjusted to the team dynamics and the environment quickly.
The combination India goes in with will be very interesting. Two spinners and two pacers are constant, but will they play a third spinner or give someone like Hanuma Vihari a go at 6 before the Australian tour? Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be back playing together and will fight for the spinner’s slot when India travel to Australia. Hence, lots of questions to be answered in this 2-match series for the team management.