The crazy schedule India are currently in the middle of continues on Thursday when they host the West Indies in the first of two Test matches. This opening game comes from Rajkot with both sides wanting to win and secure a share of the spoils.
India have been playing Test cricket recently so they should be up with the rhythm of the match while the West Indies’ players are not long off the back of the Caribbean Premier League so they need to hit the ground running.
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India
The scoreline never suggested it but India gave a good account of themselves in the recent series against England and with the conditions naturally assisting them more here it would be a surprise if we don’t see some good cricket from the Indians in this match. They will need to ensure their focus is strong though because there is a lot of talk about their upcoming series with India.
We pretty much know that India’s batting will be fine in these conditions so it will be interesting to see how their bowlers fare. They will need their seamers in a big way when they get to Australia so it would make little sense to produce pitches which offer them nothing and they have to slog it out ahead of such a big tour.
West Indies
A new era for the West Indies begins in Rajkot. They had made strides under Stuart Law and now they have to kick on and continue their improvement. They have a young batting line up that is clearly extremely talented but they need to take that talent and begin to put up big scores to give their bowlers all the encouragement they need.
Historically the West Indies bowlers would struggle out in Asia but with their own conditions beginning to resemble the Asian continent it might be that they are more comfortable in these surroundings now. It is a huge task for the West Indies but they don’t have a huge amount to lose so they can tear in throughout the contest.
Team News
India have confirmed that Prithvi Shaw will make his debut for this match. Shikhar Dhawan has been left out so he will partner KL Rahul at the top of the order. India have confirmed Ravi Jadeja and R Ashwin will play so their final spot will be between Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.
West Indies will be without Kemar Roach as he has flown home to attend a family matter. Sunil Ambris went well in the warm up match for this series and he could well find himself in a spot in the batting line up.
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Betting
KL Rahul has the chance to rubber stamp his place in the side for the tour of Australia in this series and I don’t think he will fail. He is a real class act in all formats but especially this one where he has an average of a 50 in one every three innings. He didn’t have the best of series in England but he finished it in style and since then he has made a half century in his only match in the Asia Cup. He has gone past 50 in eight of his last 11 Test innings in India and the 7/5 he gets that far here looks worth taking.
Sunil Ambris had an excellent time of it in the warm up match for this series and with no mental scarring and baggage he could run hot in the first innings. He will be there to entertain but that might not necessarily be a bad thing as we saw Jos Buttler and Sam Curran achieve decent scores down the order playing in a flamboyant style during the England series. Ambris is a genuine batsman though so at 10/1 he looks overpriced to top score in the first innings.
Tips
Back KL.Rahul to score 1st Inns 50 for a 3/10 stake at 2.40 with 888sport
Back him here:
Back S.Ambris Top West Indies 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Betfair
Back him here:
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