Such has been India’s dominance in this series that the failure to bowl out West Indies on the final day of the second Test that resulted in a draw appears more like a loss. With over 100 overs of play lost and the pitch having lost bite, the bowlers tried hard but the home team put up a strong resistance to thwart India’s bid for a 2-0 lead. The visitors will have one more opportunity to seal the series in the third Test that starts here at the picturesque Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet in St. Lucia from Tuesday.
With an even covering of grass, India captain Virat Kohli believed the pitch will offer bounce and carry allowing the bowlers to press for wickets on all five days. It now remains to be seen if India stick with their five-bowler theory including three quicks and two spinners in R Ashwin and Amit Mishra or opt for a change, which seems to be less likely. “I had a look at the pitch yesterday. It looks pretty similar to Antigua. Even grass covering. The surface should harden up. I think they didn’t have too much time to water it and roll it because of the rain.
But it should become pretty hard. We’ve known this wicket to have a lot of bounce and carry,” said Kohli in his pre-match interaction.
What will attract everyone’s attention, though in the team sheet is the Indian top-order that is doing extremely well. After missing out on the second Test due to a thumb injury, M Vijay once again batted with fluency in the nets. Lokesh Rahul cracked an impressive 158 in the Jamaica Test and the attacking Shikhar Dhawan is the only left-hander in the current line-up making it a nightmarish scenario for Kohli to pick two from the three options.
“We need to look at the balance of the side. The good thing is that all three openers are playing well. Bad thing is that you can only choose two between three. That is a call we need to take as management. We’ll sit down today and do that. These things are not in your control, getting injured when playing well. That’s why they say injuries can really upset people and bring them down. The good thing is Vijay has been in a good headspace. He’s back to the nets and back to fielding. We’ll take a call on that. We still have to discuss that.”
Like India, the home team too will have a change at the top of the order. Rajendra Chandrika has been dropped for the third Test and Shai Hope has been recalled to the Test side. However, Jason Holder made it clear that the home team will field Leon Johnson alongside Kraigg Brathwaite. Johnson played the two practice games prior to the series in St. Kitts but struggled against the new ball attack, making just 22 runs in three innings. Holder also indicated that they may include an extra seamer – either uncapped Alzarri Joseph or all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite - for a pitch that he called as "the best cricket pitch in the Caribbean in terms of carry and assistance for the quicker bowlers".
