Toss West Indies chose to bat vs India
West Indies‘ attempt to win their first Test in India for nearly 30 years began with their captain Roston Chase calling correctly at the toss and choosing to bat on an unusually green pitch in Ahmedabad.
Shubman Gill admitted he wasn’t “too sad” about the coin going against him, noting that the surface had been under the covers for the past few days and might assist the quicks early on. Despite the nature of the pitch on the first morning, both captains were aware of the threat of spin later in the game. Chase’s decision to put runs on the board was built around not wanting to chase when wear and tear make the conditions shift.
India have picked three spinners – although their job is made easier by the fact two of them – Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – are also allrounders. Kuldeep Yadav comes off the bench where he spent the entire England tour earlier this year. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are the two specialist fast bowlers, with Nitish Kumar Reddy, returning from knee injury, offering support.
India’s middle-order batting is weakened by the absence of Rishabh Pant, who is still recovering from a fractured left foot. Dhruv Jurel takes the gloves and there was no space for the spare man Devdutt Padikkal.
West Indies too wear a changed look with Tagenarine Chanderpaul back as opener. John Campbell is back at the top of the order, and Brandon King has shifted down. They are without much of their fast-bowling firepower with Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph out injured. Jason Holder was unable to step in, he has to undergo a medical procedure himself, so there was a Test debut for Johann Layne, the allrounder from Barbados with 66 first-class wickets at an average of 22. Khary Pierre lives his dream of wearing the maroon cap as well, the 34-year-old Trinidad native finally rewarded for topping the charts in the West Indies Championship this season.
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (capt), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
West Indies: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, John Campbell, Alick Athanaze, Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk), Roston Chase (capt), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Khary Pierre, Johann Layne, Jayden Seales
