There is no such thing as a Test match without a context, certainly not in an era where Test cricket is playing second fiddle to the T20 upstart. But especially not now, with the World Test Championship trophy up for grabs and every game having so much riding on it.
West Indies can’t end a 42-year wait for a series triumph in India, but they are still in with a chance to score their first Test win in these shores since 1994. The odds don’t favour them, not after the two-and-a-half-day pounding in Ahmedabad, but Roston Chase’s side have little choice but to buckle down and try and dispel some of the doom and gloom that has enveloped West Indian cricket for a while.
Skip Gill eyes first series win
Shubman Gill, on the other hand, will greedily target a first series victory as captain, in his first home outing in that capacity. The 26-year-old came away with honours intact on his captaincy debut in England following a 2-2 stalemate; victory in the second Test, starting at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday, will be the ideal beginning to his stint and set the team up nicely for an arduous faceoff at home next month against South Africa, the reigning WTC titlists.
India showed no signs of taking their foot off the pedal during their two practice sessions leading into the Test. Wednesday was mandatory, but at Thursday’s optional session, Gill, openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, and the world’s No. 1 all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja all worked for long periods on getting their batting in order.
It’s not this quartet that will occupy the mind-space of the management group. Much of their interest will revolve around Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who have both been identified as key cogs in the Indian Test wheel going forward.
Nitish has provided glimpses of his all-round abilities in his brief career, marked by a century at the MCG in December and tidy spells of medium-pace in England before injury cut short his interest. Gill made it clear that as important as Nitish would be when the team played overseas, it would be unfair on the player to be merely an away asset. Nitish had a very fringe role in Ahmedabad; India will try to get him into the game for more sustained passages with the ball and with the bat, even if that requires them to rejig the batting order and elevate Nitish from No. 8.
Pressure on Sai Sudharsan
Sudharsan has played just four Tests; seven innings have yielded a solitary half-century (in Manchester) and 147 runs at 21. For someone being touted as the long-term No. 3, these are unflattering returns. Gill made a spirited defence of his 23-year-old colleague, but the Tamil Nadu left-hander knows that he can’t leave a statement innings for much later. He didn’t have a great ‘net’ session on Wednesday; perhaps, nerves and a lack of belief played their part. In Ahmedabad, he was culpable of injudicious shot-selection, but if he can set aside anxiety and concentrate on the ‘now’, as Chase loves to point out, he should be on to a good thing.
1994
The year West Indies last won a Test match in India