India won the two-match Test series against West Indies 1-0 where the last test was drawn due to rain interruption on the final day.
On the final day of the second Test, the rain didn’t allow to bowl for any moment which forced Team India to settle for a draw in Port of Spain. Although the visitors couldn’t register a clean sweep, a comprehensive victory in the first Test in Dominica meant they clinched the two-match series 1-0.
From batting to bowling, everyone delivered their best which resulted in some positives for the Indian Team as they began their WTC campaign on a winning note.
With 240 runs in three innings, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma led by example and finished the series as the second-highest run-scorer, only behind his new opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed 266 runs in his three outings. India Star batter Virat Kohli scored 197 runs in 2 innings with his 29th Test century coming in his 500th International match.
Talking about bowlers then everyone performed brilliantly throughout the series, Ashwin was the highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets to his name, after the disappointment of the WTC final, the veteran off-spinner bounced back strongly and proved his worth to the team. His 12-wicket haul in the Dominica Test gave a big confidence boost whereas Jadeja got 7 wickets to his name.
In the absence of senior pace bowlers like Bumrah and Shami, Siraj took the responsibility and bowled superbly throughout the series, ending with a five-wicket haul, a total of 7 wickets to his name, and the debutant Mukesh Kumar got 2.
Indian former Captain and legendary batsman, Sunil Gavaskar, has some different viewpoints regarding this series and Indian players. When someone of his stature says something, you ought to listen, as he sure does know a thing or two more about cricket than most. He has been presenting his opinions regarding the failures of the Indian batting line-up since the WTC final.
He yet again came to bash the selection of the India squad for the West Indies Test Series. He has shown his disappointment regarding the team selection and management.
The legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar feels there was no need to send the likes of Kohli and Rohit to the Caribbean. Gavaskar said that India needed to field a completely young team against a weaker opponent like the Windies while questioning the selectors for the same saying that they might not want any challenge from the younger lot to the established stars.
“The runs scored by Rohit and Kohli against this West Indies attack begs the question: what did the selectors learn that they didn’t know already? Wouldn’t it have been better to try out some youngsters and see how they take to Test cricket or is it that the selectors don’t want any sort of challenge from the younger lot to the established players,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“Now that Ajit Agarkar has come on board as the Chairman of the selection committee let’s see if there is going to be any change in the approach to building a team for the future or if it’s going to be ‘the same old story’ of the Indian team being the bridesmaid but not the bride,” he further said.
India next plays a Test series, five months later in December against South Africa. They will need to find a sharp balanced team combination with youngsters to tackle the attack and circumstances in South Africa.
Before this series, a long-duration of cricket schedule is on the line. India will be participating in Asia Cup which is scheduled to be in August-September and then they will be playing the ICC World Cup in October-November.
