By: Tarish Bhatt
The slow and low Caribbean pitches will test both India and West Indies. It will be test of character for both teams. They will be aiming to start the series with a win, particularly India, who are heading as favorites.
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India vs West Indies 1st Test is scheduled for a 7:30 pm IST (10 am local time) start. The match will be available live on Ten Sports Network in India. The live streaming of the match will be available HERE. The live score updates of the match will be available HERE and HERE.
“When we played in Australia and in Sri Lanka, we learned that it’s crucial to attack in the first match, and to set the tone for the series,” Virat Kohli said. “For that you will need to play your strongest bowling unit in the first match.”
In the two practice matches, India have got a decent practice with both bat and ball. Right from Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul to Wriddhiman Shah everyone spent good amount of time in the middle.
Indian spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra – bowled pretty well in the two warm-up ties. Amit Mishra, in particular, was impressive. The pacers, however, will have to bend their backs.
West Indies, on the other hand, are in a format that they don’t play too well. They will have to put up a spectacular show to even trouble a heavy-weight like India. They have a decent bowling attack, but India’s star-studded batting is enough to tame even the best of oppositions.
It is going to be a stern test for them against Indian bowlers, spinners in particular. Jadeja, Ashwin and Mishra are more than capable of exploiting the even the slightest of help off the deck.
“All I stress and address with the guys is to keep improving,” West Indies captain Jason Holder said. You can’t expect leaps and bounds, too much from a very young side. Once we get the steady progression in terms of improvement”
