By: Sandipan Bose
In the end, it turned out to be a great Test match pitch in Antigua on which India registered their first win over the West Indies. The pitch had pace and bounce, good enough for the Indian fast bowlers to take those 10 wickets while the spinners took the rest.
With the stage getting set for the 2nd Test match in Kingston from Saturday onward India could still face a selection issue if the pitch there is on the slower side.
The team management could be tempted to play three spinners instead of existing two and if that happens. The biggest headache would be whom to drop from the pace department.
Ishant Sharma being the strike bowler of the team is the most important member in the fast bowling unit. He is also the most experiences Test player in the Indian dressing room. Therefore, thinking of dropping a bowler of Ishant’s caliber is completely out of the question.
With Mohammad Shami coming into the scheme of things in Test cricketer and proving his match-fitness and agility in the Antigua Test, dropping him is again unthinkable. Besides, he was one of the most successful Indian fast bowlers in the Antigua Test.
The next man in focus is Umesh Yadav, who also proved to be a successful and has claimed more wickets in the last Test than India’s strike bowler Ishant Sharma. So, who could be dropped?
Perhaps, no one and India would go in to the 2nd Test match in Kingston with the same playing XI provided there is no fitness issue. This is where the West Indies could bring in a new strategy.
Somewhere along the line, the West Indies should be looking to break into the partnerships of the Indian pace trio. They will be preparing a slower track for the Test instead of harder Antigua pitch to unsettle them.
Jason Holder and his team may have seen that Indian pace attack would get the better of them on a relatively pacy track, like one in Antigua. But the hosts would be wary about the factor called R Ashwin. He took seven wickets in the fourth innings of the previous Test.
It seems certain that Indian Test captain Virat Kohli won’t even think of trying out seven batsmen and four bowler combination. The West Indies tour after India’s convincing opening Test win.
The emergence of Ashwin as an allrounder has given him that option of attacking the opponent team all the time. It remains to be seen what kind of track awaits India in the second game!
