After a 3-day mauling of West Indies in Dominica, the India Cricket Team are off to Port of Spain for the 2nd Test. While Ravichandran Ashwin destroyed Windies batting line-up, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are mulling adding Axar Patel option for IND vs WI 2nd Test starting July 20.
As many as 20 wickets fell to spinners out of 24 with Ashwin bagging 12 of them (5/60 & 7/71). As a puff of dust started coming off the surface after just 8 overs, the destiny of the match was already written.
But even on such a surface, India misread the pitch and picked just two spinners in Ashwin and Jadeja. With Port of Spain likely to have a similar condition, India would be willing to add a third spinner in Axar Patel.
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What to expect from Port of Spain pitch?
- The Queen’s Park Oval last hosted a Test match back in 2018 when West Indies thrashed Sri Lanka by 226 runs.
- That pitch had a bit of all. It had good bounce, and seam movement early on. Batters had their days while spin dominated the last two days.
- But since then, there have been no Test matches and it’s hard to predict if the conditions are the same.
- The last international match was also against India. After India dominated with the bat in the rain-marred game, Yuzvendra Chahal spun India to win.
- If that match is anything to go by, the pitch is likely to be low and slow.
And there, Axar Patel could dominate. The left-arm spinner made a name for himself bowling on such low and slow surfaces. In 12 Tests, he has already claimed 50 wickets at an average of 17.16. He also has five five-wicket hauls. Furthermore, his batting prowess adds depth to the Indian team.
Who could be dropped for Axar Patel in IND vs WI 2nd Test?
With Mohammed Siraj leading the charge and Shardul Thakur providing excellent breakthroughs, the only player who can be benched is Jaydev Unadkat. Despite bowling good spells, Uandkat returned with 0/18 in just 9 overs he bowled in the 1st Test.
However, the only thing that can prevent an Axar Patel comeback is the weather. There is a rain prediction in Port of Spain leading up to the match on July 20. Furthermore, rain can play spoilsport on all days. But it also means that whatever little match is possible, seamers can extract help from the cloudy conditions and moisture in the air.
India Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
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