🏏West Indies vs India, 2nd Test: Queen's Park Oval Trinidad🏏

🏏West Indies vs India, 2nd Test: Queen's Park Oval Trinidad🏏

It's a historic occasion. The second Test between the West Indies and India, in Port-of-Spain, will be the 100th Test between the two teams. Of the 99 played so far, the West Indies have won 30 and India 23, while 46 have been draws.

In the last 21 years, however, the West Indies have not managed a single win against India. Their previous victory came in 2002, when Yashasvi Jaiswal, the Player of the Match in the first Test of the current series, was not even five months old.

As India stands on the brink of another series win in West Indies, they'd be resting easy given their commanding performance in the opener.

So much so, that even a transitioning Indian team started as favorites once again in Trinidad. It has been 21 years since West Indies last failed to lose a Test series against India, and with the odds heavily stacked against them once more, the hosts would be pleased if they did manage to square the series.

Since then, the two sides have met 24 times, with India winning on 15 occasions and drawing on the other nine. Given how the first Test went - India winning by an innings and 141 runs - West Indies will have to put in a serious effort to end that streak.

Having said that, this could be one of their better chances to do so. The pitch at Queen's Park Oval has been, traditionally, conducive to fast bowling, and the West Indies have a far more experienced seam-bowling attack in this series.

Neither the West Indies nor India will play another Test for at least the next five months. So both teams will be looking to make the most of this opportunity, aside from pocketing some World Test Championship points.

The West Indies will be looking to achieve some stability with the bat, and India will hope that Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan spend a considerable time in the middle.

West Indies' batting woes were only exacerbated in Dominica where the conditions too were right up the alley of India's masterful spinners.

The challenge in Trinidad could be different if the hosts decide to back their strengths, which has been the pace attack, over the last few years.

Playing 11

West Indies (probable): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 3 Alick Athanaze, 4 Jermaine Blackwood, 5 Kirk McKenzie, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Rahkeem Cornwall/Kevin Sinclair, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon Gabriel/Jomel Warrican

Two days out from the Test, India captain Rohit Sharma said he was not looking to make "any drastic changes". He also backed Ishan Kishan, saying he was "very impressed" with the wicketkeeper's glovework. So it will not be a surprise if India field an unchanged XI.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Ishan Kishan (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Mohammed Siraj

As India stands on the brink of another series win in the West Indies, they'd be resting easy given their commanding performance in the opener.

So much so, that even a transitioning Indian team started as favorites once again in Trinidad. It has been 21 years since West Indies last failed to lose a Test series against India, and with the odds heavily stacked against them once more, the hosts would be pleased if they do manage to square the series.

Pitch and conditions

While the Queen's Park Oval has not hosted a Test since 2018, fast bowlers have always enjoyed the conditions here, registering a much better average (27.39) and strike rate (61.0) as compared to spinners (36.57 and 88.7). Rain is forecast on all five days of the Test, though.

In contrast to the first Test at Dominica, where spin played a part and had a big say in the outcome of the game, this ground has favoured the pacers more over the last decade. With rain expected over the course of the match, it could dictate selection calls for both teams.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli (8555) needs 32 runs to go past Virender Sehwag's Test tally of 8586. Among Indians, only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and VVS Laxman have more Test runs.
• Ashwin is 14 short of 500 Test wickets.
• In Dominica, Athanaze became only the second West Indies batter to top-score in each innings of his Test debut. The first was Lawrence Rowe, who scored 214 and 100 not out against New Zealand at Sabina Park in 1972.
• India have won three of their 13 Tests at Queen's Park Oval. Another win here will make it their joint-most-successful overseas Test venue alongside the MCG.
• England and Australia are the other two teams West Indies and India have met India 100 times in Tests.
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There was hardly any contest in the series opener. India won it by an innings and 141 runs inside three days with Ravichandran Ashwin and debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal being the stars.

Nothing much is expected to change in the 2nd Test. India will once again start as favourites to snatch a series win, but the hosts will be looking for a turnaround, or at least a fight.

To add some more importance to the contest, this will be Virat Kohli's 500th international match and also the 100th Test between India and West Indies.

As far as the teams are concerned, the West Indies are guaranteed to make one change, as Raymon Reifer was dropped from their 13-man squad. India have a difficult choice between continuing with the winning combination and handing debut to young pacer Mukesh Kumar or playing Axar Patel.

India coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma reflect on the 100th Test match between India and West Indies.

“What really makes this rivalry special is the fans. Even if they are not able to come to watch the matches, they still talk about Test cricket. I haven't played here in 12 years, and still some of them meet me, remind me about my stats and make me feel good,” said India head coach Rahul Dravid.

“It's a historic moment. There is so much history between the two teams. Over the years, we have seen some really good cricket, be it in India or in West Indies. I made my debut against them. We hope we can continue the legacy of the former players,” said India captain Rohit Sharma.

Can Yashavi Jaiswal make it two-in-two?

Yashavi Jaiswal had a dream start to his international career. He achieved multiple milestones with his 171-run marathon knock in the first Test.

But now the bigger challenge for the young left-hander will be to back that innings up. He is not only looked at as a Test opener. India are hoping that he will develop into an all-format cricketer.

In order to do that, the first thing he has to add to his game is consistency.

What can West Indies do to stop India?

The last time the West Indies beat India in a Test was way back in 2002. But of late, the difference between the two sides is at its peak. Veteran India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes West Indies have the quality but they need to overcome the mental blockage while playing against India.

Virat Kohli's historic milestone

This will be Virat Kohli's 500th international match. He will become only the fourth Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Rahu Dravid to do so. Apart from them Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricky Ponting, Shahid Afridi and Jacques Kallis have also played more than 500 international matches for their respective teams.

Thanks for the tag and thread 😃