India vs West Indies 2018: What Windies should do to win the second Test
West Indies suffered their biggest defeat against India in the first Test at Rajkot when they lost by an innings and 272 runs. West Indies lost all their 20 wickets in 4 sessions of play and the match got over in 3 days.
If you take all their previous 5 defeats against India, it was all by colossal margins. A loss by 237 runs, by an innings and 92 runs, by an innings and 126 runs, by an innings and 51 runs and by an innings and 15 runs. The last time West Indies won a Test match against India was at Kingston in 2002. The last time West Indies won a Test match in India was way back in 1994 at Mohali.
Against this background, West Indies are now approaching the second Test against India at Hyderabad. Let us analyse what the Windies should do to win the second Test and level the series.
#1 Select the correct combination
West Indies went into the first Test match with 3 fast bowlers, the leg break bowler Devendra Bishoo and off-break bowler Roston Chase. They were one slow bowler short on Indian conditions. For the second Test, fast bowlers Sherman Lewis and Keemo Paul should leave the way for Jason Holder and slow left-arm orthodox bowler Jomel Warrican. James Warrican is an unknown quantity and could be used as a surprise weapon. The presence of Jason Holder would strengthen the Windies batting line up.
#2 Bat first after winning the toss
Should the Windies win the toss, they should have no hesitation in batting first. The forecast for the first two days of the second Test match is expected to be partly cloudy. But the West Indies should not be carried away by that. It would be difficult for the West Indies, for that matter any team in the world, to beat India in India batting second. The only option left for the West Indies is to bat first and hope for the best.
#3 Put heavy runs on the board
Going by Virat Kohli’s luck with the toss in the recent times, there is more likelihood of West Indies winning the toss and batting first. It is one thing to win the toss and totally another to convert on that opportunity big time.
The West Indies batsmen should apply themselves to put a decent total on the board in the first innings. Runs on the board would put India under pressure. In the first Test, the West Indies batsmen showed a lot of impatience which resulted in their collapse in both the innings.