India vs West Indies: Ravichandran Ashwin Gives India 1st Breakthrough
After a convincing victory in the first Test at the Saurashtra Cricket Association in Rajkot, Virat Kohli and his men will look to seal a 2-0 whitewash against a lacklustre Windies in the second and final Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
India won the first Test by a record innings and 272 runs and the second also threatens to be a lop-sided contest. The Windies probably have more trouble on the cards as their skipper Jason Holder remains unfit and their only fast bowler of repute, Shanon Gabriel, is a doubtful starter for the encounter.
India, on the other hand, have not made any changes to the squad that won the first game inside three days in Rajkot. The lop-sided matches are hardly the kind of preparation the Indian team would have wanted before the big-ticket series against Australia starting in December.
In fact, Virat Kohli’s team might feel a sense of deja vu as it goes into the second Test.
Pitch invasion by fan wanting selfie with Kohli has caused a drinks break here in Hyderabad. This is the second time such incident has occurred in this series. Also happened in first Test in Rajkot.
WI 40/1
Brathwaite 12* Hope 6*#WIvIND— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) October 12, 2018
👏👏 Proud moment for @imShard as he receives his Test cap from @RaviShastriOfc, becomes the 294th player to represent #TeamIndia in Tests.#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/2XcClLka9a
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 12, 2018
In 2011, India dominated the West Indies 2-0 in a one-sided series before crashing to a 0-4 defeat against Australia Down Under. Similarly, in 2013 when India won both Test matches well inside three days, the next tour of South Africa didn’t pan out well as they lost the series. It is just an indicator that the West Indies Test teams over the years have not been competitive enough to challenge the Indian team at home.
The focus, once again, will be on Indian skipper Virat Kohli who scored 139 off 230 balls. And not to forget the 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw, who expectedly hogged the limelight with a smashing ton on debut.