“We were excited when we found out that Kohli is going to be Antigua for the first Test”. “So it was good to get some rest in the evening, and the bowlers’ attitude was very good, all of them voluntarily said, yes, we will bowl, and the spinners took the responsibility”.
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India and West Indies are all set to play a short T20 series in America next month.
“I am happy to see Virat finally get a double hundred, and even considering that the opposition is an easy West Indies team, they are getting into good habits”. Shami opened up the victory vista for India with his three-wicket burst on Day 3 which was followed by Umesh, unleashing his own venom and finishing off the innings with four straight scalps. Late a year ago, the US got to see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne among a galaxy of former stars during the Cricket All Stars series, which was played in New York, Los Angeles and Houston.
Apart from Kohli, it was Ravichandran Ashwin whose innings of 113 after being promoted to the No 6 spot that ensured India needing to bat only once during the Antigua Test.
“Every team in the world is looking for that guy who can bowl yet bat at that position”. “This is a No. 2 versus No. 8 battle, so let us be real about the two sides”. There is an obvious difference in quality here. Helped along by some mediocre batting by West Indies, the three had much to exult at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium. What we were used to hearing were excuses like “we are a young team”, “we are learning from our mistakes”, “we are trying to improve”, etc., all of which cushioned the rough rides when they really and inevitably came along their journey.
It puts the onus on Kohli as a thinking captain, shuffling the field around again and again, to suit his bowler s preferences as well as attack the batsmen at the same time.
Since the onset of this tour, with Anil Kumble coming in as coach and the preparatory camp in Bangalore, then arriving in the Caribbean nearly a fortnight before the first Test, it has been a consistent effort towards building up for the series, and the long home season thereafter. The Indian bowlers, on different occasions, had spoken about the tough pitch conditions and the need to keep working on the batsmen.
The second Test starts in Sabina Park, Jamaica on Saturday.
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“Whether it gives West Indies an advantage, only time will tell because India have all their bases covered”. Shannon Gabriel is a decent bowler, and nothing more, and was the only one to trouble the Indian batsmen in the first Test. Carlos Brathwaite and captain Jason Holder, as the latter had himself admitted before the Test, were there to do the holding job.
