Who Will Win West Indies vs India 1st Test?
The opening game of the two-test series between India and the West Indies is set to get underway from October 4. The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot will be the venue for this first test. Live telecast is scheduled to start at 9:30 AM local time each day of the match.
Ind vs WI: Where to Watch/Live Streaming
TV channels: Star Sports, Sky Sports Cricket, Fox Sports, SuperSport, OSN Sports Cricket HD
Live Streaming: Bet365, Hotstar, SuperSport Live, Now TV
Toss Prediction
The wicket at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium is expected to be good for batting initially but will start offering more assistance to the spinners as the match wears on. Since neither of the two sides would want to bat fourth on this pitch, the toss-winning captain is likely to bat first.
Read on for team previews, betting odds, betting tips and match prediction for Ind vs WI 1st Test...
India Team News & Playing 11
IND Team News
With Shikhar Dhawan not included in the squad and Mayank Agarwal left out for the first test, Prithvi Shaw is set to pair up with KL Rahul at the opening position. Numbers three, four and five will be taken up by Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane respectively. The absence of Dinesh Karthik and Wriddhiman Saha means that Rishabh Pant will be keeping wickets for the team. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav are also automatic selections. The only thing that remains to be seen now is whether India will go for a third spin option in Kuldeep Yadav or hand over a test debut to seam bowler Shardul Thakur instead.
IND Key Players
Virat Kohli is going through supreme form at the moment. The skipper has scored the most test runs for India from the current squad and he finished as the best batsman in the last series against England. Cheteshwar Pujara has a century in the only test match played at this ground and his hunger for runs in this format makes him another key figure in this strong Indian batting line-up. KL Rahul cracked 149 in his last test outing and it will be up to him to set up a good platform for the rest of the innings. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be the danger men with the ball on this dusty spin-friendly surface. Jadeja is the fourth best bowler in test cricket and he is likely to cause more problems for the West Indian batsmen. Mohammed Shami is coming off an impressive tour of England and he seems a top candidate to provide the early breakthroughs.
IND Recent Form
India have played almost all of their test cricket away from home this year. They started off the year with a 1-2 series loss in South Africa, then decimated Afghanistan at home in Bengaluru before being thrashed 1-4 in England - their most recent test assignment. India have not been defeated in the last seven test matches they have played at home.
India Predicted Playing 11
Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav/Shardul Thakur
West Indies Team News & Playing 11
WI Team News
Led by Jason Holder, the Windies are likely to open their batting with Kraigg Brathwaite and Sunil Ambris. Kieran Powell would be coming at number three with Shai Hope, Roston Chase and Shane Dowrich forming the middle order. The visitors had already lost Alzarri Joseph for the entire tour due to injury and now they are going to be without their frontline seamer Kemar Roach for this game as he has returned home due to personal reasons. Kemar's absence will likely pave the way for Sherman Lewis's debut in international cricket. Jason Holder, Keemo Paul and Shannon Gabriel will be the other pace bowlers while Devendra Bishoo is likely to be the lone spinner in this line-up.
WI Key Players
Kraigg Brathwaite and Sunil Ambris scored unbeaten 52 and 114 respectively in the warm-up match against Board Presidents XI. These two are likely to open the batting and it will be crucial that they take the Windies off to a good start. Brathwaite topped the runs charts in the home test series against Bangladesh and the team will want him to carry his form into this series. Shai Hope and Kieran Powell are the other two batsmen in this line-up who are expected to make notable contributions in this match. West Indies will rely largely on Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder and Devendra Bishoo when it comes to bowling. Gabriel with 111 wickets in 37 tests has been the team's strike bowler for some time now and the onus will be on him to make the early inroads into the Indian top order. Holder was outstanding with 16 wickets in the two matches against Bangladesh while Bishoo who took a three-wicket haul in the practice match could trouble the batsmen once the ball gets older.
WI Recent Form
West Indies have lost just one out of the five tests they have played so far this year. Their most recent test series came at home against Bangladesh in July. It was a two-match series which the hosts ended up winning comfortably by 2-0. Prior to that, they drew 1-1 against Sri Lanka in a three-match series that was also played at home.
West Indies Predicted Playing 11
Kraigg Brathwaite, Sunil Ambris, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder (c), Devendra Bishoo, Keemo Paul, Shannon Gabriel, Sherman Lewis
Oct 04, 2018
09:30 IST / 4:00 GMT
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium - Rajkot, India
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