It was an eventful Test match, the last one played on a bouncy Kensington Oval wicket, and if not for the rain, there would have been another result. That said, the series is still up for grabs, with everything to play for in the final Test starting Wednesday, at the Roseau in Dominica.
India vs West Indies: 3rd Test Preview
The 1-0 scoreline is a worry as far as the visitors are concerned. Their famed and renowned batting order has collapsed once too often and in four innings, they have not been able to touch 300. In the batting department, though there have been significant contributions from the old guard, the IPL brigade, sans Suresh Raina have come a cropper. The openers have been unable to see off the new ball. Murali Vijay has had a forgettable series and will now watch the England tour on television. Abhinav Mukund made a dogged 48 at Barbados which earned him the opening slot for the Lord’s Test. Virat Kohli has not touched 50 runs for the series while MS Dhoni’s batting has also been a letdown. It would not be a bad idea to bring in the fresh S Badrinath in the middle order, but with the series still at stake, Dhoni is expected to stick to his current batting line up. In the bowling department, both Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma have been impressive while Mithun struggled in his outing at Barbados. Dhoni might be tempted to bring in leggie Amit Mishra, but the surface will dictate if a third pacer is warranted.
West Indies are fighting for survival and need a win to level the series, which will be a tremendous achievement. The hosts have dropped the experienced but out of form Ramnaresh Sarwan for this Test and roped in young Kieran Powell. Their openers, specially, Lendl Simmons needs to fire and see for the new ball for the relatively inexperienced middle order. Chanderpaul, Samuels and Bravo will again have to make the bulk of the runs, if the hosts are to entertain any chance of levelling the series. Kemar Roach is all set to come in place of the effective but wayward Fidel Edwards, while the rest of the team is expected to remain the same.
Test cricket’s newest venue will play host to yet another intriguing fare as the two teams slug it out. Over rate is also a concern for India and they would want Dhoni to spin the coin at Lord’s. For that, the Indian bowlers need to be on the money.
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