Bridgetown (Barbados). India’s record at the Kensington Oval has been horrible so far, they have lost 7 out of 8 tests played here. Add to this an apparently inexperienced Indian batting line up against the pace of Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul and Sammy on a fast and bouncy pitch. All this makes one think that the visitors are in troubled waters.
But despite all this, the visiting Indian team are everybody’s favourites to win the second test, not just because of their current form and a 63 run win in the series opener at Sabina Park but also due to a below par West Indian side.
Considering the fast pitch, India would be tempted to play three seamers and drop Amit Mishra. Munaf Patel would be the first choice to fill the slot but if he is not match fit, Abhimanyu Mithun may get a game. Murli Vijay, Abhinav Mukund and Virat Kohli will get another chance to prove their mettle in the second test even though they failed to cash in the opportunity they got in the first test.
On the other hand, there are plenty of worries for the West Indian camp, both on and off the field. There vice captain Brendan Nash has been dropped from the side, Gayle still remains in exile and Sarwan and Chandrapaul have failed to make good scores in the recent past.
Marlon Samuels may replace Nash and strengthen the middle order. The team management would also be tempted to strengthen their pace battery with Kemar Roch, but they may not do that at the cost of a middle order batsman despite being clearly a bowler short.
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