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Teams set for battle of attrition
- Updated: July 20, 2016
Match facts
July 21-25, 2016 Start time 1000 local (1400 GMT)
Big Picture
Ajinkya Rahane has said it will be the key. R Ashwin has said this series will be all about it. West Indies coach Phil Simmons has said his side will harp on the word throughout the series. All signs so far point to a test of “patience” on what have become quintessential slow and low Caribbean pitches.
The physicality of winning a Test in the West Indies, no matter how weak the regional Test side might have become, cannot be overstated. The outfields are heavy, which will mean a lot of running. Over the last 10 years, only Zimbabwe and the UAE have produced runs at a slower clip.
This is an uneven contest with the best West Indies players not available through problems with the administration and other lucrative options available, the CPL in this case, which will clash with the Test series. As much as for the bowlers and the batsmen, this will be a test for the watching public of the Caribbean islands; many will be choosing between the modern stadiums sans the character of old hosting attritional Test cricket and the CPL matches full of life in the cooler and colourful evenings.
If West Indies can manage to make time a factor with good attritional Test cricket, it could be a fascinating series. Make the Indian bowlers earn every wicket, make their batsmen go uneasy in an attempt to give the bowlers enough time, absorb the punches and land one when India leave themselves open in trying too hard. If it works in Antigua, in Jamaica they could even try to blindside India with a green seamer. At a time when West Indies, the World T20 champions, are on the mend in ODIs and have their own T20 party going on, the Test side will need to tell their fans why they should give them their patience.
On the other end will be a side looking to break away from its limited ambition of the past. India have claimed they don’t want to win series 1-0 anymore. They want to win every Test. Their captain has said he won’t entertain tired bowlers in the final sessions of long days. Their new coach is an epitome of relentlessness. They won’t be shy of sacrificing a batsman for an allrounder or a bowler in order to claim 20 wickets. From their two warm-up games in St Kitts, …
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