Debasis Sen, St Lucia: India would feel let down after being robbed away a victory on the final day of the second test match in Sabina Park , whereas West Indies will be full of confidence after salvaging a near impossible draw in the last Test. India had a great chance of going 2-0 ahead in the series but gritty late order batting from West Indies forced a draw in the end.
The Indian team had a rigorous practice session after a gap of three days. The practice session under coach Anil Kumble lasted a good three hours under the hot and sunny weather.
Kohli and his men will look to secure the series here at the Darren Sammy stadium when they take on the hosts in the third Test at Gros Islet, St Lucia. After a splendid show by Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, and Jason Holder in the previous contest, Ishant Sharma and co. can’t afford to take them for granted this time around.
The visitors are likely to go in with a settled squad . The wicket here at Darren Sammy stadium is devoid of any green grass and hence is likely to assist the slow bowlers. India may be tempted to play Ravindra Jadeja in place of Amit Mishra. The leg spinner had a pretty mediocre outing in the second test match.
As far as the opening combination is concerned, Shikhar Dhawan will open the innings with Rahul. Dhwan, who has looked decent in the series so far, will hope to showcase his talent a bit more . With Murali Vijay still nursing an injury ( that kept him out of the second test match), it becomes imperative that KL Rahul, the centurion in Sabina Park will get another opportunity. Rahul played a superlative innings of 158 in the first innings. It will be a huge match for Pujara as he has to score big to cement his place in the side. He did have starts in the first two matches, but has failed to convert them into a substantial total. With 16 and 46 to his name, Pujara will surely be under the pump to improve his overseas record. There is solidity in the middle order batting with Virat and Rahane following Pujara. The Indian captain would like to score big in the third test after getting out for only 44 runs, which, by his standards, isn’t up to the mark given it was a batman-friendly tack.
Ajinkya Rahane, will be oozing in confidence after scoring that elegant looking 237-ball 108 at Sabina Park. Ashwin , will come in next followed by Wriddhiman Saha. The off spinner has already struck a century under his belt while Saha has impressed everyone with his stunning wicketkeeping skill. The lower order will comprise of the likes of Amit Mishra, Md Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. The think tank will take a call on the final eleven only after looking at the wicket on the morning of the test match.
India last played a test match here in St Lucia in 2006 when Rahul Dravid and his team were denied a win after enforcing a follow -on to West Indies. Current India coach Anil Kumble took 3 wickets in each innings but failed to see the team through to a win. It will be interesting to see if he can achieve a test win as a coach this time.
India likely XI : Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra/Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav