2nd Test, West Indies vs India: Last Chance for Reggae Boys

West Indies vs India

It’s been a long hot summer in the Caribbean and that’s just how we like it. But for Jason Holders’ West Indies Cricket stars, at times it’s been a little too hot!

India has been in town and beaten the generous hosts in all three formats of the game, so the 2^nd Test, West Indies vs India, at the Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, is Holders’ men’s last chance to put one over on the best 5-Day side in the world.

India is the top-ranked team in Test cricket, with the West Indies down in eighth place, so the West Indies vs India betting odds are never going to give the hosts a great deal of hope, it’s down to them to make something special happen. Test cricket has enjoyed a huge lift this week after Ben Stokes’ heroic century beat Australia at Headingly when England looked dead and buried.

If West Indies beat India in Jamaica, it won’t be against the odds that England faced in the last hour of that sensational win, but it will be a happy surprise for their fans and a nasty jolt for the tourists.

Talking Points

Windies must follow Holders’ lead

After a decade in the doldrums, during a period in which the politics made more headlines than the players, there has been something of a resurgence in West Indian cricket over the past couple of years, thanks in no small part to the courage and determination of their captain Jason Holder.

Jason Holder will lead the Windies when they play at Sabina Park for the 2nd Test, West Indies vs India — West Indies’ captain Jason Holder plays a shot during day three of the first Test cricket match

A skilful fast-medium bowler and attacking batsman, Holder leads from the front, and never more so than in a ten wicket destruction of England in a test match earlier this year. And the West Indies showed a lot of fight and spirit in the 2019 ODI World Cup before embarking on a T20 contest with India. But the tourists won all three of those games, before winning a three-match ODI series 2-0, and taking the first of these two Test series.

So the Windies need to rediscover their mojo, and quickly.

While Virat Kohli is the highest-ranked Test Batsman according to the latest ICC figures, West Indies captain Holder is the highest-ranked all-rounder, still ahead of England’s superhero Stokes! He has the right to demand 100 per cent effort from his players, and while he had praise for his bowling attack in the first Test, he has asked for more from his batting line-up.

The Windies were skittled out for 100 in the second innings in Antigua with only fast bowler Kemar Roach shining with the bat, scoring a battling 38. Roston Chase was the top scorer in the first innings, falling two short of a half century and a repeat of these team performances will surely lead to another loss.

India has the lot

Virat Kohli captained his team at a World Cup final for the first time this summer and for much of the competition, they looked like the best team in the competition. With a dangerous bowling attack and explosive hitters, India can and does, excel in all formats of the game.

The tourists won the first Test in Antigua by 318 runs as the home side was destroyed by one of the most potent pace attacks in world cricket. Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami are both brilliant bowlers, but in Jasprit Bumrah, who took five wickets as India wrapped up their first Test win, they have a fire-cracker. His short, shuffling run hints little of the frightening pace and accuracy to come and the West Indies desperately need to work him out if they are to avoid another defeat.

Kohli’s batting line-up is packed with talent, and it was Ajinkya Rahane who took the plaudits in Antigua, hitting 82 and 102, while Kholi picked up a second-innings 50.

History

The 2^nd Test, West Indies vs India news and updates will keep flowing in the run-up to this final game but a look at the head to heads gives the hosts and underdogs some motivation.

In the 95 Test matches played between these two great teams the West Indies have come out on top with 30 wins to India’s 19, though there have been 46 draws.

More recent history tells a different story though, and the way the tourists have dismantled their hosts this summer across the three formats of the game, winning six, drawing one and losing none, has been relentless.