Ajinkya Rahane will probably be aiming to pile on the runs to increase his worldwide profession and lead India to a sequence sweep in opposition to a feeble West Indies when the second and remaining Test begins in Trinidad on Thursday. The sport will mark the a hundredth Test between the 2 groups and although India skipper Rohit Sharma stated it will likely be a giant event, his workforce will probably be anticipated to dominate the West Indies prefer it did within the sequence opener in Dominica.

After the sport on the Queen’s Park Oval, India play their subsequent Test solely on the tour of South Africa in December-January, leaving the likes of Rahane yet one more alternative to make it extraordinarily exhausting for selectors to miss him for the away sequence in opposition to the Proteas.

In his first Test in 18 months, which occurred to be the World Test Championships remaining final month, Rahane was the stand out India batter however he could be ruing the missed alternative on a sluggish and turning pitch in Dominica the place the guests wanted to bat solely as soon as.

There is a robust probability that India will once more bat solely as soon as and Rahane might want to make it rely with Shreyas Iyer, who’s present process rehab after a again surgical procedure, anticipated to be accessible for the South Africa tour.

Batting coach Vikram Rathour stated within the lead as much as the sport that India would wish an in-form Rahane for the South African sojourn.

“When it comes to technique, you constantly work on that but what stood out for me that he was much more calm in his approach. He was playing late and close to the body. He is still batting the same way in the nets.

“We hope he’ll do properly. Conditions in South Africa, you will want anyone like him to come back good,” Rathour said ahead of the second Test.

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.

If that is indeed the case, India will be tempted to play another spinner in Axar Patel at Unadkat’s expense.

Shardul Thakur can also be benched to accommodate Axar, whose batting has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 12 months.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who became only the third Indian to score 150 on his debut, will be looking to extend his purple patch. Shubman Gill could only last 11 balls after dropping himself down to number three and he will be itching to go out in the middle.

Virat Kohli, who has not made an overseas Test hundred since December 2018, also will be eyeing a big knock after a dogged 76 in the opener.

After taking 20 balls for his first run in Test cricket, Ishan Kishan would be eagerly waiting for his chance in the middle after impressing the skipper with his keeping skills against Ashwin and Jadeja on his debut.

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.

Squads: India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva (wicket-keeper), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Kevin Sinclair, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican. PTI BS ATK ATK