TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsIt was a bland day of a Test. A sluggish pitch combined with a lethargic West Indies batting made it worse. The first and foremost question is, why would a host nation prepare a surface that would suit a visiting team? West Indies have served this on a silver platter with bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the opposition.
Their choice to bat first was correct. However, their batters couldn't utilise the better batting conditions on offer in the first two sessions. Apart from Tagenarine Chanderpaul, every other batter lost his wicket to a loose shot, including their cool and calm captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
The Indian spin duo shared eight wickets, with Ashwin bagging his 33rd five-wicket haul. The debutant Alick Athanaze showed some promise in his short stay of 47 runs.
Now all eyes will be on the Indian debutant, who is batting on an unbeaten 40. Alongside the skipper Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal will look to capitalise on a bowling attack that has looked hapless so far.
Nothing has gone the hosts' way in this Test. India have all 10 wickets in their kitty and are just 70 runs behind. To sum it up, all routes are leading towards a disaster for West Indies.
Toothless spinners at home
The pitch, though, has shown characteristics of uneven bounce and variable spin. Considering India's recent record against spin, it should encourage the West Indian spinners enough. Though they can't stop India from attaining the lead, Windies spinners can at least try to lessen it. However, it all depends on their spinners, which is a massive concern, especially at home.
In Tests since 2021, West Indies spinners have bagged a wicket every 36.3 runs and 68.8 balls, which is still acceptable. In any case, those numbers are purely because of the success away from home.
In the same period, Windies spinners have picked up a wicket every 30.7 runs and 57.1 balls compared to 69.3 and 137.2 at home. Interestingly, the visiting team spinners have outsmarted the home spinners, and that too by a massive margin.
Visiting team spinners have averaged 30.1 and a strike rate of 78.8 this period. In the 12 matches, West Indian spinners have bagged only 15 wickets, while others have picked up 47.
With very less runs on the board and their spinners' inability to penetrate, it will be a long day and a daunting test awaits the Men in Maroon.
India's love for scoring in the Caribbean
Adding salt to their wound, India's batting record in West Indies has been spectacular. Before this series, India toured the Caribbean in 2016 and 2019. In both series, they scored tons of runs in the first innings.
In the 2016 series, they scored 500+ twice and 350+ score once. In 2019, they scored 400+ once and 290+ in the other. In six innings before this, only once India had scored less than 350.
In Tests since 2016, on average, Indian batters have scored 426 runs in their first innings. Overall, their batters' averaged 47.1 in six innings when none of the other teams averaged above 35.
West Indies has been the most challenging country to bat in the mentioned period. Batting teams in the Caribbean have averaged 27.8, the only nation where the average is below 30.
West Indies might be a difficult nation to bat for others and the hosts themselves, but not for India. It is just up to India as to how they pace their innings.
They have two ways to approach this Test. One is to bat till Lunch on day three and take a massive lead. The other is to attack and declare at tea on day two with a lead of around 200. In any way, the result has already tilted towards the visitors. The hosts need a miracle to turn this around.
The weather is not a problem on any of the four remaining days of the Test. Is the weather relevant for the next four days? It should be enough for India if it stays clear for the next two days.
