Published: Aug 08, 2016, 07:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 09, 2016, 11:08 AM (IST)
India would be feeling undone after being denied a certain victory in the second Test at Kingston, as the West Indies‘ lower-order batsmen punched their way to a draw. With a chance to win the four-Test series, Virat Kohli and his men will look to secure the trophy when they take on the hosts in the third Test at Gros Islet, St Lucia. After a superb batting display by Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, and Jason Holder in the previous contest, Ishant Sharma and co. can’t afford to take the hosts for granted this time around. With almost a settled and a well-oiled side, Kohli would seldom want to tinker with the playing XI: Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs West Indies, 3rd Test match
Top order: Shikhar Dhawan, who has looked decent in the series so far, will hope to showcase his talent a bit more. With Murali Vijay waiting in the wings, it becomes imperative for Dhawan to seize any opportunity he gets to score big runs. KL Rahul put up a splendid show in the last Test, making a superlative 158 replacing the injured Vijay. This will surely keep the openers spot in team a highly contested affair. Cheteshwar Pujara, who has had starts in the first two matches, has failed to produce his proper-Test-like knocks. With 16 and 46 to his name, Pujara will surely be under the pump to improve his overseas record.
Middle order: Mr Can’t-do-anything-wrong — Virat Kohli — is slated to come in at No.4. And, yet again, he will hope to weave some more records in his illustrious career. He made 44 runs in the last contest, which, by his standards, isn’t up to the mark given it was a batman-friendly tack.
Ajinkya Rahane, who is very well been Kohli’s deputy in every sense of the word, struck an elegant looking 237-ball 108. Like Kohli, he’ll look to continue his commanding show.
However, Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s new No. 4 batsman, will be eager to perform more with the ball after failing to make it big in the last Test. He, in fact, has already hit a ton in the series and would want to make a bigger impact with the ball and help India win the series.
Wriddhiman Saha, who has impressed everyone with his stunning wicketkeeping skills, needs to prove his worth with the bat as well, given that he is armed with solid technique.
Lower order: Amit Mishra, who Kohli has persisted in the team for his leg-cutters, might just get replaced by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Mishra, who has so far not set the field on fire, could miss out after initial sighting of the pitch reveals good grass cover. Bhuvneshwar, who has been in red-hot form in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), would surely be eager to play Test cricket.
Ishant Sharma, who has spearheaded India’s bowling attack with much astute so far, will look to continue his good performance and provide his team with early inroads. Ishant’s record suggests that he is bound to go erratic and give away easy balls, but luckily for India, the long-haired paceman has refrained from any such feats so far.
Umesh Yadav, who impressed one and all with his pace in the last match, would this time want to make a mark for himself by picking more wickets. Mohammed Shami has been the pick of the bowlers so far in the series. With a green top awaiting in his sight, Shami will be already dreaming about knocking a few stumps on Day 1.
India likely XI : Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav
(Vishal Mehra is a reporter at CricketCountry, who enjoys his weekly dose of anime, and plays cricket once a white moon. His twitter handle is @capturethecatch )
