Captain Darren Sammy gave the West Indies the first breakthrough when he had Virender Sehwag caught by Adrian Barath at short mid-on in the second Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
Sehwag hit 8 fours in his 33-ball 38 and alongwith Gautam Gambhir had brought up the Indian 50 in the eleventh over.
This was after Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat.
India are unchanged from the last Test, while the West Indies have brought in Kemar Roach in place of Ravi Rampaul and Adrian Barath comes in for Kieran Powell.
If the sight of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir batting in tandem with their customary fluency was reassuring in the first Test, they will also be well-advised to be mindful of basics like backing up and grounding the bat behind the crease while running between the wickets.
Yuvraj Singh has Virat Kohli breathing down his neck after two more wasted chances at the Kotla. With the Australia tour looming, Yuvi will surely be feeling the pressure to deliver at the Eden.
In Sachin Tendulkar's case, though, it's the burden of a billion expectations that he's trying to cope with, and the only way to come out of such choking pressure is to get the 100th hundred out of the way soonest.
If the Eden track turns out to be a low and slow turner, as it has been over the past couple of seasons, it will be a real challenge for Sachin to graft for runs, given his new-found desire to play freely.
Spinners should play a major role and the fact that newly-married Ashwin will go into the match without a single practice session between the two Test matches could be a worrying thought for the team management.
The hosts would also have realized that this West Indies side is not the pushover many expected them to be. They may not have the flamboyant Chris Gayle or the solid Ramnaresh Sarwan in their ranks, but another old warhorse Shivnarine Chanderpaul is relishing the role of carrying the youngish batting line-up on his shoulders. Always the one to value his wicket, this 136-Test veteran has been scoring more freely and finding the fence more regularly, making him doubly dangerous.
If Chanderpaul is the biggest thorn for Dhoni & Co, the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo have the talent to complement the senior pro's lead role. The more experienced Marlon Samuels has been a bit of an enigma, and needs to put his hand up and be counted if the young brigade gets sucked into the web of spin.
Teams:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (Captain), Adrian Barath, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh, Fidel Edwards, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach. |
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India vs West Indies: India lose Sehwag after a fine start against West Indies in second Test