India Tour of West Indies 2016 Predictions

West Indies are scheduled to host India for a four-match test series commencing from July 21. The first test will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua while Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad will be the venue for the final test to be played on August 18. Team India are already in the Caribbean and have played a two-day and a three-day warm-up match against the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI. The practice games are over and the scene now shifts to the main event as the hosts will now take on the visitors in the first test come Thursday.

Let’s preview the two teams set to be in action and the players who are expected to standout for their respective sides.... 

West Indies

The home team have announced their squad for the first test which consists of 13 members led by Jason Holder. Rajendra Chandrika could be one of their opening batsmen in the first test due to his knock of 69 against the Indians in the first practice match. Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels are going to be the key for the Windies. Bravo hit a hundred in the last test series in Australia and he is likely to score the most runs for his team against India.

Jason Holder, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite and Shannon Gabriel will be the ones to watch out for when it's time for the West Indies to bowl. Bishoo took 6 wickets in an innings against Australia in the most recent test series against them at home. Since Caribbean grounds tend to assist spinners more, Bishoo is going to be a valuable asset for the West Indies in this series.

India

They have arrived with a 17-member squad and Virat Kohli will be leading this unit. Lokesh Rahul could earn a place in the playing XI by virtue of his back-to-back fifties in the warm-ups. Kohli has also warmed up with a fifty in the last practice match and he will be the strongest contender for a top-batsman bet in the series. Ajinkya Rahane scored a century in each innings of the last test played against South Africa at home and going by his current form, he should be backed to do well here too.

Spin is going to be the weapon of choice on these slowish tracks, and India will have its hopes pinned mostly on the likes of Mishra, Ashwin and Jadeja. In the three innings of the warm-up matches, Mishra has taken nine wickets, Ashwin has six and Jadeja has four. The faster bowlers haven't made a mark yet and so the visitors will be counting on their spinners to take wickets. 

Who will Take the Series?

The last time these two teams met in a test match was back in India in 2013 when the hosts defeated the Windies by an innings and 126 runs. In the last 15 tests between them, India have been winners on eight occasions while seven of them resulted in a draw. West Indies last won a test against India way back in 2002 at Kingston. Moreover, they have lost six test matches on the trot which included a series against Sri Lanka and two series against Australia. India, on the other hand, have five consecutive test victories and they lost just one test in 2015.

India seems to be the stronger of the two teams and so we're predicting them to continue their good run and win this test series as well.