TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsWith Virat Kohli on an unbeaten 87, there is a sense of anxiety around his century. If this was the Kohli of 2016-19, that tingling sensation would have never been there. However, Kohli, since 2020, has seen a lot of disappointments. He certainly hopes that this will not end up as another one.
There was nothing special on Day One of the second Test. Throughout this series, India have been winning sessions for fun. In any case, West Indies made a slight comeback in the second session. All four wickets fell in that session, but the pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Kohli ensured no further derailment.
Before these two pair started to reconsolidate, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal provided yet another fantabulous start. For the first time in Tests, India's opening partnership forged 100+ run stands in consecutive innings outside Asia. Both openers registered half-centuries but failed to convert those into a big one like they did in the first Test.
India are in the driver's seat with 288 runs on board, with Kohli and Jadeja well set. Day Two is all about Kohli's first away Test century since 2018. His last came against Australia in Perth when he scored 123.
All eyes are on Kohli
The reason behind the agitation for Kohli's century is valid, considering his form. In Tests since 2020, Kohli has passed the 50-run mark in nine innings, and only once has he converted it to a century. His century conversion rate in this period has been just 12.5% (excluding this innings).
Kohli has never looked like he is in trouble in any of those innings where he has scored 70+ since 2020. To be precise, only once has he batted with a control percentage of less than 90% out of the six (including today). It is just that one moment where his head falls away.
Mind you, this is the same batter with a century conversion rate of 55.1% from his debut till 2019. Out of the 49 times he scored 50+, Kohli had converted 27 of those to a ton.
Adding to that, West Indies are yet to take the new ball, and Kohli needs to add 13 runs to his overnight score. In Tests, this is the fifth innings in which Kohli is stranded on an 80+ score at the end of the day's play. In the previous four occasions, he had converted three into a century. Well, that is a positive sign.
On the occasion of his landmark 500th International game, Kohli could not ask for a better way to celebrate. If Kohli scores a ton on Day Two, he will be the third Indian to hit multiple centuries in six countries. Sachin Tendulkar has hit multiple centuries in seven different countries. Rahul Dravid has achieved it in six.
India eye another big total
West Indies' choice to bowl first came as a surprise. Samuel Badree, at the pitch report, mentioned that it would assist the spinners as the day goes by. Further, during the match, Curtly Ambrose said, "This is the slowest Queens Park Oval surface I have seen" on air.
To add that with numbers. In Tests since 2010, teams batting first have averaged 37.45 compared to 25.1 while batting second. It gets worse for the Windies. In the time mentioned above, Day Two has seen the batting teams average 36.6 and lose a wicket every 83 balls. By far the best batting day.
In the same period, India averages 42.3 in their first innings (either of the first two innings) in the West Indies, the best for any team. In ten innings, only twice did they score below 280 runs. India are very far from their highest total in the Caribbean. In 2006, India posted 588/8 before declaring the innings. This is 300 runs away, and India will have to bat the whole day to achieve that.
The 100th Test between the two nations is turning out to be another one-sided affair, with India dominating the hosts. An interesting anecdote: India's first win against West Indies came in the 25th match, and the Windies' last win against India came in the 75th Test between the two. The 50th match went neither's way as it was a draw.
The weather at the start of this Test wasn't great, and it still isn't. Though we got a full day's play on Day One, it is doubtful it will happen on the second day. There is a 46% chance of perception by around 12 PM and 52% around 1.
However rain was also predicted for the first day, but that wasn't the case. Hopefully, the weather prediction is proven wrong again, just like Day One.
