India Look Test Series Win at Another Spin Track

Kolkata: India go into the second cricket Test against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens Monday, hoping their in-form young spinners will wrap up the three-match series and, as the icing on the cake, master batsman Sachin Tendulkar would get his 100th international 100.

Up 1-0 in the three-match series, rallying after conceding a sizeable first-innings lead to put it across the Caribbeans at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla, the Indians would like to carry the momentum against a side that today lacks the character their predecessors had and the awe with which the cricket world looked at them a couple of decades ago.

India have won the last three Test series against the West Indies and they should make it four in a row without much difficulty.

Much will, however, depend on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who will be out playing here barely 24 hours after getting married in Chennai Sunday, and his left-arm partner Pragyan Ojha.

The two young men picked up 16 of the 20 West Indies wickets on the slow Kotla turner, Ashwin on debut getting nine and a dozen-Tests-old Ojha seven. The chances of an encore by the two at Eden are high as the track here is also known to assist slow bowlers, particularly on the last two days.

The spin success must have come as a big relief to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has gone into the first Test with an inexperienced attack - no Zaheer Khan, recovering from a hamstring and ankle injury, and Harbhajan Singh, who is struggling to find form in domestic cricket.

Batting does not appear to be a major problem for India, despite unaccountable collapses in West Indies and England. The top-order is still good enough to bail them out in Indian conditions. The first-innings slump in the Delhi Test got the batsmen a bit of a tongue-lashing from their captain.

There can't be a better batting line-up than Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni himself.

The match could be special for the game and Tendulkar. The Mumbaikar raised hopes of reaching the milestone of scoring a hundred international centuries in the second innings of the first Test, but was stopped at 76 by leggie Devendra Bishoo.

Tendulkar has been a notch below his best at Eden Gardens, scoring only two 100s in 10 Test matches and local cricket buffs are hoping that the little master will make it truly special this time.

Gambhir has gone without a century in his last 12 Tests and got out after good starts in both the innings at Kotla. The home ground of Kolkata Knight Riders, of which he is captain, should inspire him to try and get his 10th 100 in his 43rd Test.

India are likely to retain the XI from Kotla unless the pitch is a raging turner or if there is any injury in the nets on the eve of the game.

West Indies, however, can take heart from their favourable 3-1 win-loss record in eight Test matches here.

Left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has a terrific record against India, should again shoulder the team, having hit the seventh century against India in the Kotla Test.

Besides, the West Indies bowlers put up a good, combined effort in the first innings when they shot out the Indians for 209.

Last but not the least, the Eden track has emerged as a major talking point. After the sharp criticism from Indian captain during the ODI and Twenty20 ties against England last month, there was much speculation that the curator has been told by the board to come up with a turner for the Test.

But the strip still has some grass, with veteran curator Prabir Mukherjee promising a firm wicket where the spinners are likely to extract turn over the last two days.

Adrian Barath should replace Kieran Powell as the opener. Samuels should get another chance despite twin failures, although it will be interesting to see where he bats. The choice between Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach remains an interesting one, but could be easily settled if Ravi Rampaul does recover from a stomach ailment in time for Monday's start. Sammy has hinted at two spinners, which mean Shane Shillingford could play.

Teams from

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wicketkeeper), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Varun Aaron, Rahul Sharma.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Adrian Barath, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh (wicketkeeper), Ravi Rampaul, Fidel Edwards, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach, Denesh Ramdin, Shane Shillingford.

Pitch and conditions
Like Kotla, Eden Gardens has been a sluggish pitch of late. In fact MS Dhoni criticised the track after the Twenty20I against England. An ugly wicket, he called it. The curator now promises even bounce, some lateral movement, and a track which isn't a rank turner.

Stats and trivia

• The anxiety among the nation is palpable, but Sachin Tendulkar has gone only five Tests and four ODIs without a hundred.
• If West Indies don't win one of the next two Tests, they will have spent a decade since they last beat India, in Jamaica in May 2002. They have won at least one Test against all other teams bar New Zealand since 2002.
• This will be Fidel Edwards' 50th Test. No West Indies fast bowler since Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh has reached 50 Tests. Eleven West Indies bowlers have taken more wickets than Edwards' 151.

Match facts
November 14-18, 2011
Start time 0900 local (0330 GMT)