India thrashed West Indies in the opening Test of their two match series and when the two sides reconvene for the second game in Hyderabad on Friday, all eyes will be on them to see if they can claim a whitewash.
West Indies have shown they can battle back from disappointment in this format of the game in recent times but they were outclassed to such an extent in the opening game that it will be a big ask for them to level up the series.
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India
You would have to say India were far too good for the West Indies in Rajkot. Given the margin of victory they were clearly on top but it wasn’t a completely perfect outing for the Indians so they do still have a little they can work on. A couple of their batsmen could do with runs ahead of the Australia series and have this chance to get it.
Based on that first match you would think the only obstacle for India to overcome here is themselves. It would be natural for their better players to allow their minds to wander towards the upcoming tour of Australia, which is a really big one for India as they look to prove their worth overseas after being well beaten by England recently.
West Indies
If West Indies need some inspiration to call upon then they could get it by looking back at their responses to big beatings away to England and Pakistan in recent times but you get the feeling this is a task that will be beyond them. Rather than looking to win the match their first mission might just to be competitive for the five day duration of the match.
Clearly they are going to need to up their game in both departments and with the bat they are going to have to adopt more protection of their wicket because they didn’t give themselves nearly enough value in the opening game. If that opening match is anything to go by then everything is going to have to go right and a bit more for the tourists to level up the series.
Team News
India have named the same 12 man squad for this match as the one they utilised in Rajkot and given how dominant they were in that game it would be a surprise if they are not unchanged for this second encounter.
West Indies will have their captain Jason Holder and fellow seamer Kemar Roach back for this match and they will be hoping they act as inspirations for a better performance. Devendra Bishoo could be left out after an average first match.
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium
There have been four Test matches played at the Hyderabad venue previously. India have won three of those games and drew the other one and worryingly for the West Indies, India’s lowest first innings score on this ground is 438. West Indies will be playing here for the first time but the ground is regularly used in the Indian Premier League so they shouldn’t be completely alien to it.
The wicket here is similar to what we saw in Rajkot in that it will be good for batting over the first couple of days and then the longer the match wears on it will turn pretty good so there should be no surprise in terms of the conditions.
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Betting
Ravi Jadeja had an excellent return to Test cricket in the first game when he smashed 100 and took four wickets over the piece which would have been a lot more had West Indies not completely collapsed against Kuldeep Yadav but I see no reason why he won’t have another big match here.
Jadeja has a performance line of 150.5 which he covered with ease in the opening match of the series and with the potential for him to take even more wickets here I’m happy to get on the over on a pitch which might even be even more suited to him than the Rajkot one was.
Tips
Back R.Jadeja’s Performance – Over 150.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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