India Vs West Indies: 1st Test Preview

With the Men in Blue gearing up to play their first Test after more than five months, all eyes are expectedly on the Sabina Park wicket. Reports coming in from Jamaica suggest that the pitch offer a lot of bounce and carry and if so, then the Indian batsman will find it a handful, despite the return of the old guard.

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The West Indian team will take to the field minus talismanic opener Chris Gayle, as his meeting with WICB ended in a no result. Also, this is a dispute that does not seem will end soon. Back to the on field action, and the West Indies have a problem deciding on a combination. The in form Lendl Simmons will almost certainly open the innings with the returning Adrian Barath , while the middle order spots will be occupied by the old guard, Sarwan,Chanderpaul and vice captain Brendan Nash. Captain Sammy will have to decide if the should go in with an extra batsman or an extra seamer, if he chooses the former, then Darren Bravo will make the cut, while if the latter is chosen, then Fidel Edwards could make his return. Young leg spinner Devendra Bishoo will add variety to the attack which could be pretty lethal on its day. However, that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the middle order and stumper Carlton Baugh.

Coming to the Indian camp, their main problems are fitness concerns. Opener Murali Vijay is uncertain after being hit on his hand during a net session, while Munaf Patel has a sore elbow and has bowled all of 10 deliveries after the third ODI , a couple of weeks ago. Abhimanyu Mithun has not yet arrived owing to visa issues, which means that India are left with no option but to give Praveen Kumar a Test debut , along with the inconsistent Ishant Sharma. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra will have to do a lot of bowling as well as account for most of the wickets, as another injury on the bowling front before the start of play could mean India go in with just three specialist bowlers. The batting line up looks far more settled with Parthiv Patel opening if Vijay fails to recover, and Mukund will earn his first Test cap. The middle looks very strong with Dravid, Laxman and Dhoni all retruning to action. Kohli and Raina should edge out Badrinath for the remaining batsmens’ slot.

So, off field problems for the Windies and fitness concerns for India is hardly any way to begin a Test series, but the time for talk will be over on Monday as a glorious chance for the hosts looms large to make an impression on the cricketing world.

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