Windies playing for pride, hunt first win against India in 14 years

Aug 18, 2016 Sports

By Sean Devers in Trinidad
In association with Lifetime Real Estate
& Cascadia Hotel
Today at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, West Indies hunt their first Test match victory against India in 14 years and having already lost this series, will be playing for pride and personal glory when they face India in the fourth and final Test at a venue which hosted Test cricket on matting pitches until 1954.
West Indies won the inaugural series between the two sides in India in 1948, 1-nil but have not won a match against India since 2002 when they won 2-1 in a 5-Test series on India’s eighth tour of the Caribbean.
Skipper Carl Hooper and Shiv Chanderpaul scored three tons each with Hooper making his only Test double century at Bourda. That win remains their most significant series win this millennium.
The last time India toured the Caribbean for a Test series was in 2011 when they won the 3-Test series 1-nill. The teams have played 93 Tests, with West Indies winning 30, losing 18 and drawing 45.
India won the opening Test in Antigua by and innings & 92 runs but an unbroken century seventh wicket stand between Skipper Jason Holder (64*) and 137 by debutant Roston Chase who also captured 5-121, saw the hosts to an honorable draw in Jamaica.
But West Indies were back to their inconsistent ways in the next Test at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia. They lost by 237 runs with over a session to spare despite the loss of an entire day due to rain and a six-wicket haul from pacer Miguel Cummings when India were looking the score quickly and declare.
Today India has five batsmen with three figure scores and averages over 50. Off-spinner Ravi Ashwin has scored all of his four tons against West Indies with two of them coming in this series.
Skipper Virat Kohli scored his maiden double century in this series, while Ajinka Rahani, Lokesh Rahul and Wicketkeeper Saha are the other Indians to register tons.
India’s batting is powerful and have made 566-8 declared in the first Test, 500-9 declared in the second and 353 in the third, while the West Indies’ highest Total was 388-6 when they batted out 104 overs to draw the Jamaica Test.
Although Ashwin has the most wickets (16), pacers Mohammed Shami (11), Umash Yadav and Ishant Sharma have all bowled with pace and control, while Amit Mishra could also play a role on a track which traditionally assists the spinners.
Roston Chase’s unbeaten 137 is the only three-figure score from a West Indian but his other five innings produced just 53 runs. No home team batsman reached 200 runs despite two fifties each from Jermaine Blackwood (146), Shane Dowrich (168) and Kraigg Braithwaite (168).
Holder, Samuels, Bravo and new t20 Captain Carlos Braithwaite were the other West Indians to make half-centuries but Carlos made a duck and 51 in his only game, while Bravo and Samuels, who will retire from Test cricket at the end of this series, are the most experienced batsmen but were also the most inconsistent.
Samuels made 148 runs from six innings at an average of below 25 and it would not be surprising if he is replaced in the side. Kraigg Braithwaite has wonderful Test match temperament but his flawed technique of playing around the ball has often gotten him into problems.
Bravo is the biggest disappointment. Mid-way through his career he showed the promise to play the ‘Brain Lara’ role in the team but after 45 Tests his average is 39.96 with just seven centuries and 15 fifties.
Leon Johnson finally got his chance after surprisingly being ignored after making 44 and a half-century in his last Test match in South Africa. He was forced to open after making the most runs at the Regional level, batting in the middle order for Guyana, a team he led to consecutive First-Class titles.
His scores of 23 and duck was not a performance he would want to write home about but he has leadership ability and would be the best person to lead the Test side. But first he needs to cement his place in the side and the left-hander has a great opportunity of doing that with a couple of big scores here, preferable a ton.
West Indies U-19 quickie Alzarri Joseph is genuinely fast and adds fire power to the pace attack which comprises Shannon Gabriel and Cummins.
Holder, one of seven Bajans in the squad and who will not make every Test team if he was not the captain, could lend medium pace support.
Chase should do the bulk of the bowling while leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo could be brought back on this track.

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