India looks to 10th consecutive series win at home

Hyderabad: India were clinical in taking apart the Windies in the first Test in Rajkot, and will be aiming for a 2-0 sweep of the series in the second Test in Hyderabad.

However, Windies know they are capable of much better than the margin of defeat in the first Test – a record innings and 272 runs – suggests.

As captain Jason Holder pointed out, they’ve had their moments in recent Tests, managing wins against Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka in the last year and a bit. But to put up a strong fight and put themselves in with the best chance of a favourable result, their batting will have to show more patience.

In their two hits in the first Test, they barely lasted a total of 100 overs. Roston Chase, Keemo Paul and Kieran Powell got starts, but where three Indian batsmen got hundreds and two out near century, the Windies were unable to go on to build a big one. A tendency to attack when they needed to show patience and build partnerships proved their undoing.

Their bowling was hampered by the absence of Holder and Kemar Roach, will remain a concern, with lingering concerns over Holder and Shannon Gabriel. But Roach set to returns after miss first Test due to family problem.

India could be tempted to play around with their team composition. While young Prithvi Shaw impressed with his maiden century on debut, waiting in the wings is Mayank Agarwal, for whom a place in the XI would be just reward for spectacular domestic performances.

Kuldeep Yadav challenge will be to maintain his consistency and accuracy to support Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the spin frontmen.

Teams from:

India: Prithvi Shaw, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur

Windies: Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Sunil Ambris, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich(w), Jason Holder(c), Keemo Paul, Sherman Lewis, Shannon Gabriel, Devendra Bishoo, Jahmar Hamilton, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican

Pitch and conditions
The temperature is expected to be around 34 degree in Hyderabad, with a mostly sunny day.

Stats and trivia

• India has not lost a series against the West Indies since 16 years.
• India has not lost any Test series on home since 2012, during this time it won nine series.
• Last time England beat India in 2-1 in the four-test series in 2012, India defeated eight countries in the last nine domestic series.
• Cheteshwar Pujara needs 191 to get to 5,000 runs in the 5-day format.
• Jason Holder is two wickets away from getting to the 200-wicket mark in internationals. He also needs 17 more runs to get to 1,500-run mark in Test cricket.

Match facts
12-16 October 2018
Start time: 9:30am local (4:00 GMT)