India vs West Indies | Visitors will have to stand up against India, claims Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly has asserted that the West Indies cricket team will have to push themselves if they want to win against Virat Kohli & Co. when the two teams face-off in the series opener in Rajkot. Ganguly said that the Indian bowling department will pose a huge threat to the Caribbean batsmen.
West Indies will go up against a strong but still youthful Indian team under the leadership of the returning Virat Kohli in a two-match Test series which is slated to start from October 4. Facing India is a task in itself, but playing them at home is a whole different ball-game altogether.Â
And former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, reckoned that Jason Holder and the rest of the West Indies outfit will have to be at their very best in order to defeat the home team. Ganguly pointed out that West Indies are a side that
"It's back to Test match cricket for India on Thursday, this time at home, against the West Indies which is definitely a shadow of the team it used to be. This is a West Indies going through a rebuilding process, and it takes a lot to get back to where you were. For this side, it will indeed be a mountain to climb; Jason Holder and his boys will surely have to play out of their skin to stand up to Virat Kohli's team.
"The West Indies have been playing good cricket in their backyard over the past few months and their showing has been appreciable. But in India, the dynamics of the game change. Their fast bowlers will need to toil more to get wickets here, their batsmen will have to show more grit and determination while facing the Indian spinners and, importantly, they will need to be mentally tough to stand up to situations," Ganguly wrote in his column for TOI.
In addition to that, the former left-handed batsman also heaped praise on the Indian fast bowlers as he singled out Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami as major threats to the visitor’s batting line-up. Ganguly added the series against the West Indies would serve as a good preparation for India ahead of the tour to Australia.
"The word is that there will be a lot of grass on this pitch, and this might be a bit of a relief to the touring team. Kraigg Braithwaite, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Kieran Powell, and Shane Dowrich will have to stand tall in order to face up to an Indian challenge at home. It will be important how they handle Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Not only that
"India, on the other hand, will be playing this two-Test match series before their visit to Australia. It is an opportunity for them to try out a few young players. One of them will be Prithvi Shaw who is in the team based on his performances on the domestic circuit as well as with the India A team on various tours. Seniors like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will like to get their rhythm back before embarking on the next tour. For Virat, coming back from a break, it should be a start from where he left off in England. He will have to tighten up areas in the team which he might have felt needed a bit of