Ind Vs WI 1st Test: India look to leave behind scars of overseas defeat

West Indies enjoy 30-18 advantage over India when it comes to test cricket but have not managed to win a single test against it since 2002. Come Thursday, when the Caribbean side visits India for two-Test series, the host would look to improve this score as the visitors look to finish this dry spell.

Asia Cup 2018 was a relief for the Indian cricket team as it had just suffered a defeat in the test series against England.

The two-Test series with an inexperienced West Indies hold importance as the Kohli-led side looks to regain their flair before the gruelling Australia tour in November. 

Despite losing two series in the course of nine months -- one against South Africa and then the recently concluded England series -- the Indian team still managed to remain at the pole position in test rankings.

At this stage, India needs to regain confidence and get its act together as they face the 8th-ranked West Indies.

West Indies, who are yet to taste a test victory against India since 2002, would look to make the most as they have everything to gain and the Indian side is not at its best.

In a break away from tradition, the Indian team on Wednesday announced the 12-man squad for the first Test match against the West Indies. 

Debut for Prithvi Shaw 

The Indian team will deploy a new opening combination in debutant Prithvi Shaw and Lokesh Rahul after dropping Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan.

It would be interesting to see how the 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw, who swiftly graduated to the highest level, uses the opportunity considering the kind of impact he has created with his effervesce performance with the bat across formats.

If everything goes well, the West Indies series would enable Shaw to make his case for the upcoming Australia tour as pointed out by captain Virat Kohli, who said the top-order is the only area where experimentation is needed.

On the bowling front, India will play with three spinners -- R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. 

Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur will take the charge of pace bowling in the absence of the rested duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and an injured Ishant Sharma.

Jadeja, in his home ground, would look to carry on with his performance, especially after Asia Cup.

Another man who would be itching to take the field will be Rishabh Pant, who expectedly retained his place after a memorable 114 at The Oval in his debut series.

Tough task ahead for the young West Indies
 

There is an abundance of talent in the Caribbean outfit too but it lacks the experience required to be competitive in India.

The West Indies come to India after drawing with Sri Lanka 1-1 and beating Bangladesh 2-0 at home.

Only five players in the 15-man squad have played a Test in India and to make matters worse, one among them -- lead pacer Kemar Roach -- will be missing the series-opener due to the death of his grandmother back in Barbados.

The others who have played on the Indian soil are Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell and Shannon Gabriel.

In fact, the West Indies will be playing a Test in India for the first time since November 2013 when they had become part of Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series.

Under coach Stuart Law, the team has produced some stellar performances, including the shock win over England at Leeds last year after Shai Hope smashed 147 and 118 not out to set up an improbable victory.

"We have talked a lot but it is time now to stop talking. It is time the boys show what they have got on the field. They are a great bunch of guys who always give their 100 per cent," Law had said.

"Touring India has always been tough for teams but we have to show the world that we can play the game and grab hold of those opportunities," said the Australian in the lead up to the first Test. 

Schedule:

First test: India vs West Indies fixture takes place between 4 to 8 October, 2018, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. The day's play will begin at 9.30 am IST. Toss to take place at 9 am. The match will be telecast on Star Sports network and can be live streamed also on hotstar.com.

INDIA

Test ranking: First

Captain: Virat Kohli

Coach: Ravi Shastri

Top-ranked batsman: Kohli (1st)

Top-ranked bowler: Ravindra Jadeja (4th)

India playing 11 Probable: Virat Kohli (captain), Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav/Shardul Thakur

 

Recent form:

Lost five-test away series against England 4-1. Won lone home test against Afghanistan

Lost three-test away series against South Africa 2-1. Won three-test home series against Sri Lanka 1-0

Won three-test away series against Sri Lanka 3-0

WEST INDIES

Test ranking: Eighth

Captain: Jason Holder

Coach: Stuart Law

Top-ranked batsman: Kraigg Brathwaite (13th) Top-ranked bowler: Shannon Gabriel (11th)

West Indies playing 11 probable: KC Braithwaite, Sunil Ambris, K Powell, Shai Hope, R Chase, S Dowrich, J Holder (C), D Bishoo, K Paul, S Gabriel, and SH Lewis.

Recent form:

Won two-test home series against Bangladesh 2-0. Drew three-test home series against Sri Lanka 1-1

Lost two-test away series in New Zealand 2-0. Won two-test away series in Zimbabwe 1-0. Lost three-test away series in England 2-1 

India vs West Indies head to head in Test matches

India v West Indies

Matches: 94

India wins: 18

West Indies wins: 30

Draws: 46

In India

Played: 45

India wins: 11

West Indies wins: 14

Draws: 20

Stats: Jason Holder is two wickets away from getting to the 200-wicket mark in internationals.

Cheteshwar Pujara needs 191 to get to 5,000 runs in test cricket.

India vs West Indies 1st test: Rajkot Pitch

According to reports, temperatures are set to soar and the heat levels will test the players on all five days. The pitch looks friendly for batsmen while bowlers may have to toil hard. Both the teams would look to bat first to make the most of conditions.