INDIA VS WEST INDIES 4TH TEST REVIEW

Record-setting India aim for 3-0 series win

Rain is expected to play spoilsport during the course of the final Test

   

World No 1 - that's where the Indian Test team stands at the moment. It's a small incentive, as Virat Kohli rightly termed it, but the team is looking at continuing its winning form for much longer, in order to carve out an era.

India are 2-0 up with one game to play in the Test series against hosts West Indies, already a record scoreline for any Indian side visiting the Caribbean, and they will look to wrap up the series 3-0 when the two teams meet on Thursday at Queens Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The pitch at the Queens Park Oval looks like one that will play to the spinners' benefit and that will put India at more of an advantage. Ravichandran Ashwin has already scored two hundreds and picked up a truckload of wickets on the tour, and he will be looking at another strong performance to cap off a successful series.

India's batsmen have been in good form, too, with Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha and Ashwin all getting hundreds. The curator at Port of Spain reckons the pitch will be a good one for batsmen, even though there will be spin and bounce on offer. India's batsmen will be keen on putting up another big performance with the bat.

For the West Indies, the only way is up. They showed some fight during the second innings at Jamaica and the first at St Lucia. However, they slumped to a new low during their second innings in the third Test, losing wickets in a heap and succumbing to another big defeat. They will hope for a good performance from at least one of their top four batsmen, who have all been, expect Kraigg Brathwaite to some extent, in bad form. The middle-order failure in the last game exposed how dependent the team is on them, and they can ill afford another bad show with the bat, against an Indian team hungry for success.

 When: West Indies vs India, 4th Test on August 18 at 10:00 AM local time (7.30 PM IST)

Where: Sabina Park, Port-of-Spain Trinidad

What to expect: Rain is expected to play spoilsport during the course of the Test, and the pitch could play a tad differently. Kohli opined that the rain, and with the pitch kept under covers, could help the faster bowlers, while the curator felt that the pitch will be a good one for batsmen and spinners.

 Team News:

India: India sprung more than a couple of surprises during their last game in St Lucia, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them do so again in Port of Spain. Murali Vijay could come in for the out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan, while there might be a case for an extra seamer for Ravindra Jadeja, judging by Kohli's reading of the wicket.
Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shardul Thakur have also been named in the sides to play in the Duleep Trophy. All three were left out of the starting XI in the last Test, and it will be interesting to see if the players are released to play in the pink-ball tournament if they are not picked for the fourth Test.
West Indies: The only change West Indies could make would be bringing in specialist spinner Devendra Bishoo for one of their pacers. Alzarri Joseph had a good debut, while Miguel Cummins sparkled with a six-fer in the second innings in St Lucia. It will be interesting to see which pacer gets the drop, should the team management go with Bishoo.

What they said:

Virat Kohli: If you're playing five batters and looking to bat someone at number five then the batting order that we played in the last game works. When we play six batters and four bowlers in home conditions maybe where you won't require that extra fifth bowler who might not bowl too many overs, then the combination becomes different. We are open to both

Jason Holder: Personally, I would like to get some better starts. Part of my job is to do the holding bit at one end, as the hard working boys tend to rest. I felt that I was always doing well in the series but just haven't got the wickets to show.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Cheteshwar Pujara, Stuart Binny

West Indies: Jason Holder, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Carlos Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels