Spin-heavy India look to wrap up series (Preview)

Not often do you get an opportunity to win a Test match against India in India, West Indies had a golden opening at Feroz Shah Kotla last week when they bowled out India in the first innings for just 209 but fluffed it with a mediocre batting display second time around thus allowing the hosts to add one more to their ever increasing tally of home victories.

It surely was a case of opportunity missed as West Indies were found wanting against a new-look Indian spin attack on a slow and low surface. Both R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha returned with six-fors to knock stuffing out of the Windies batting. Actually, West Indian batsmen with the exception of Shivnarine Chanderpaul just don’t seem to possess the technique required to combat quality spin on helpful tracks. With venue of the second match i.e. Eden Gardens traditionally being a spinners’ paradise, the visitors will have to do something about their spin-playing abilities or the series would go into India’s kitty sooner than later.

However, a little ray of hope for West Indies is originating from the batting of veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul who played with aggression to have scores of 118 and 47 against his name. While his younger partners faltered in determining a sound strategy to counter Ashwin and Ojha, Chanderpaul had a clear plan.

Among their bowlers, Fidel Edwards was the one who created most problems for Indian batsmen by getting the ball to reverse at decent speeds. While Devendra Bishoo and Darren Sammy too bowled well, West Indies will have to bowl in good areas in order to keep the formidable Indian batting in check.

As far as India is concerned, the Delhi Test was a wake up call not to take things lightly even when the opposition doesn’t look threatening. They were caught off-guard after conceding a 95-run lead but the young spin duo saved the situation with a superb bowling effort. Ojha and Ashwin shared 16 wickets to bring the hosts back on track thus forcing the selectors to go with an unchanged squad for the next game. It seems Harbhajan Singh might have to wait a little longer to make a come back.

Talking about come backs, the Indian batting line up put things back in order by putting in a solid display in the second innings after faltering in the first attempt. Leading the way was master blaster Sachin Tendulkar with a measured 76 while others including come-back man Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman scored half-centuries at crucial junctures. The only real disappointment was Yuvraj Singh, it remains to be seen if team management persists with the south paw or prolific Virat Kohli gets a look in.

To sum it up, India is likely to wrap up the three match series in Kolkata itself but West Indies will go all-out in stopping the hosts at 1-0 or even equaling the score line.

India Squad: MS Dhoni (Capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Varun Aaron, Ajinkye Rahane, Rahul Sharma

West Indies Squad: Darren Sammy (Capt), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh (wk), Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford.