HIGHLIGHTS
- 1India beat West Indies by an innings and 92 runs in first Test
- 2West Indies were dismissed for 196 in the first innings of second Test
- 3A 4-0 whitewash will take India to the top of ICC Test rankings
Is Team India on top right now against the West Indies? Yes.
Is this current team aggressive enough to push for a complete annihilation of the opposition? Yes.
Does the team have a captain who will allow his players to push the limits to try and win every match? Yes.
Do the Windies really have a team that can try and stop India from doing that? No.
Incredibly, India have never beaten West Indies in their own backyard by a scoreline better than 1-0. Ajit Wadekar, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni, the only Indian captains who have won a Test series in the Caribbean, achieved the feat with a scoreline of 1-0. Can Virat Kohli be the first Indian Test captain to not just better that, but achieve a clean sweep?
Kohli himself went on record to say earlier, “If we have a chance to win 4-0, then why not. We don’t need to be complacent. If we end up getting a 2-0 lead, it’s not that we are playing for a draw in the next two Tests.”
The Indian skipper has already thrown down the gauntlet and the fact that the Windies have a team that is not managing to go toe to toe with India in any department might be an early indication of things to come. The top 3 batsmen and bowlers of the series so far are from the Indian camp.
So are the Windies feeling the heat and beginning to make mistakes then?
Jason Holder’s decision to bat first in Jamaica after winning the toss raised quite a few eyebrows, with even Ravichandran Ashwin saying, ” Yeah, I think I was really surprised with the way they won their toss and batted first.”
The scorecard tells the rest of the story, as the Windies were skittled out for a paltry 196 in 52.3 overs, their shortest first innings outing versus India after batting first.
A 4-0 scoreline is still a distant possibility, but there is no doubt that the visitors hold the edge. Remember, a 4-0 win will also take India back to the top of the ICC Test rankings, provided the Test series between England and Pakistan ends in a draw and Sri Lanka beat Australia 1-0 or better.
The top ranking might just elude Team India, but after what we have seen so far in the current series in the Caribbean, you would have to be very brave to bet against a 4-0 scoreline.
[Source NDTV]
