Focus on Ajinkya Rahane as India looks to sweep the series against the West Indies in the second test

The 100th Test between India and West Indies will be played at Queen’s Park Oval with the visitors leading the two-match series, 1-0. Ajinkya Rahane, who was born in Mumbai, will be the center of attention as India looks to sweep the series against a weak West Indies team beginning on Thursday. India’s next Test after the game at Queen’s Park Oval will only be on the tour of South Africa in December and January, giving players like Rahane one more chance to make it very difficult for selectors to pass him over for the away series against the Proteas.

Rohit Sharma gave the press a heads-up before the second Test that there wouldn’t be many changes to the starting lineup against the West Indies. In this new stage of the ICC World Test Championship, Rahane, who was the standout Indian hitter in the WTC Final, will try to make it count. On a sluggish, turning Dominica wicket in the first Test, Rahane lost the opportunity to score more runs.

Prior to the game, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour said that Rahane would need to be in top form for the trip to South Africa.

Although you always want to improve your technique, he struck me as being much more composed in his approach. He was playing after midnight and quite near the corpse. He continues to bat in the same manner in the nets.

“We wish him success. In order to succeed in South Africa, you would need a player like him, Rathour noted before to the second Test.

The Indian management likely not make any significant changes to the starting eleven after winning the first Test by an innings and 141 runs, although it is unclear whether left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat would get another chance. In the first Test, Unadkat only bowled nine overs and failed to claim a single wicket.

Axar Patel may be considered, nevertheless, if Indian management decides to dismiss Unadkat. After scoring a valiant 76 in the opener, Virat Kohli, who has not reached 100 in an international Test match since December 2018, would also be hoping for a strong performance.

Ishan Kishan, who impressed the captain with his keeping abilities against Ashwin and Jadeja on his debut, will be anxiously awaiting his time in the middle after needing 20 balls to get his maiden run in Test cricket.

With the exception of Alick Athanaze, who made his debut for the home team, none of the West Indies batsmen looked comfortable against excellent spin, and they would certainly struggle if the ball twists as much as it did in Dominica.

With a surface that encourages quick bowling and inserts Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph into the match, West Indies may fare well. That could be their only chance to exert pressure on the Indian batting order.

India’s squad includes: Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, and Navdeep Saini.

West Indies: Captain Kraigg Brathwaite; Vice-Captain Jermaine Blackwood; Alick Athanaze; Tagenarine Chanderpaul; Rahkeem Cornwall; Wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva; Shannon Gabriel; Jason Holder; Alzarri Joseph; Kirk McKenzie; Kevin Sinclair; Kemar Roach; and Jomel Warrican.