West Indies vs India 2019, 1st Test: 5 stats to look out for
India and West Indies commenced their World Test Championship campaigns in Antigua today. After trampling all over the hosts in the limited-over formats, India will be looking to keep up the good work in the ultimate format of the game as well and get off to a good start as far as the Championship is concerned.
West Indies, on the other hand, have been excellent of late in their own backyard and will likely give this Indian team a run for their money. The hosts' pace battery has been flourishing in recent times, with experienced men in Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach shepherding the attack.
As the two sides face off, we delve into the top five stats interlinked to the first Test that would be worth keeping an eye on.
1) The last time India lost a Test series against the Calypso Kings dates as far back as the year 2002. Since then, the two teams have competed in red-ball cricket seven times, and each time the men from the subcontinent have emerged victorious.
To add salt to the West Indian wounds, they have not defeated India in their last 21 Test encounters. The Men in Blue have triumphed in 12 of them, with the remaining nine ending in a draw.
2) Virat Kohli is on the verge of registering his 100th international win as Indian captain. He will become only the 3rd Indian reach this feat if he can pull off a victory at Antigua.
Moreover, two Test wins would also mean that Kohli will surpass MS Dhoni as the most successful Test captain in Indian cricketing history as far as number of wins (28) is concerned.
3) The last Test match that India featured in was the Sydney Test at the start of the year. It has been a 226-day long wait for the Indian fans to see their stars in whites again.
This is the joint-longest-gap for India without a Test match since 2001.
4) West Indian Test skipper Jason Holder is seven scalps away from reaching the milestone of 100 Test wickets.
Holder has really improved as a lower middle-order batsman in the last couple of years, but he hasn't let that impact his bowling. He possesses the ability to swing the cherry through the air, and frequently troubles the opposition batsmen.
Should Holder surpass this landmark, he will become only the 4th West Indian cricketer to go past 1500 runs and 100 preys in Test cricket.
5) Kohli doesn't really enjoy batting on Caribbean soil, if we go by the numbers. He has a meager Test average of 36.33 in the West Indian Islands, his lowest in any country.
Kohli's average of 45.73 against the Men in Maroon is his least when compared with his averages against other nations.
Also see - India vs West Indies schedule