This game will mark the 100th Test between India v/s West Indies, though India skipper Rohit Sharma said it will be a big occasion, his team will be expected to dominate the West Indies like it did in the series opener in Dominica.
Rahane will be aiming to pile on the runs to extend his international career and lead India to a series sweep against a feeble West Indies when the second and final Test begins in Trinidad on Thursday. After the game at the Queen’s Park Oval, India play their next Test only on the tour of South Africa in December-January, leaving the likes of Rahane one more opportunity to make it extremely hard for selectors to overlook him for the away series against the South Africa. In his first Test in 18 months, which happened to be the World Test Championships final last month, Rahane was the stand out India batter but he would be ruing the missed opportunity on a slow and turning pitch in Dominica where the visitors needed to bat only once. There is a strong chance that India will again bat only once and Rahane will need to make it count with Shreyas Iyer, who is undergoing rehab after a back surgery, expected to be available for the South Africa tour. Following an innings and 141-run victory in three days, no major changes are expected in the playing eleven but it remains to be seen if left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat gets another opportunity. The 31-year-old, who featured in only his third Test in 13 years, was the lone Indian bowler who did not pick a wicket in Dominica and bowled only nine overs. India spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja made merry on a track offering turn in the series opener and another turner is on the cards with the West Indies replacing batting all-rounder Ramon Reifer with spin all-rounder Kevin Sinclair. Barring debutant Alick Athanaze, none of the West Indies batters were comfortable against high quality spin and are likely to struggle if the ball turns as much as it did in Dominica. West Indies might be better off with a pitch that aids fast bowling, bringing Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph in the game. That could be the only way they are able to put pressure on the Indian batting line up.
