India look to begin the Test leg of 2019 West Indies tour with a win
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Team India will play The West Indies in the first Test of the two match series starting on Thursday of the 2019 tour. Team India go into this game as the favourites.
Date & Time : 22nd August 2019, 7:00 PM IST
Venue : Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
Indian team after a good performance in the limited overs leg of the current ongoing tour against the Caribbean side will have high hopes for the Tests as well.
They will have to play their brand of cricket. We know West Indies are not so good a test side nowadays compared to the older days but they will still be a threat in their home conditions and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
India know their opponents inside out after a longs stretch in the tour and should apply the basics. Batting needs to come good and bowlers will have to take the 20 wickets to win the game.
On these wickets scores of around 400 should be good on average but teams will always look more. Let’s see what kind of assistance the bowlers get. In my opinion trying to restrict below 200 is ideal but mid 200’s scores should work.
On the other hand, The West Indies side will be feeling low after the string of losses spread across different formats against India.
West Indies need to gel well for the Tests focusing on their display as a unit. The Batsmen need to score runs so that the bowlers can bowl tight lengths and be rewarded against a very strong Indian Test line-up.
Windies will look to give their all in the Test series and hope for the best.
India doesn’t have a so good record against The West Indies in Tests and they will look to improve upon the fact.
Team news and possible line-ups
Shane Dowrich will keep the wickets for The West Indies against India.
As for Team India, Kuldeep Yadav is available and might play.
West Indies XI : Holder (C), K. Brathwaite, J. Campbell, D. Bravo, S. Hetmyer, S. Hope, Dowrich (WK), R. Chase, Roach, S. Gabriel, S. Brooks.
India XI : M. Agarwal, KL Rahul, Pujara, Kohli (C), Rahane, Pant (WK), Ashwin, R. Jadeja, Shami, Bumrah, I. Sharma.
Prediction
I expect Team India to dominate this Test and go on and win it weather permitting.
