Both India and the West Indies will kickstart their new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle on July 12th in the first of the two matches in Windsor Park, Dominica. The two sides will be keen to start the match on a good note, as they missed out on winning the WTC mace in the previous final.
India will begin their period of transition, with one of their key names in Cheteshwar Pujara dropped from the side due to his poor performance in the World Test Championship final. Hence, Yashasvi Jaiswal will make his debut on Wednesday, with the left-hander set to open and Shubman Gill dropping down to No.3. In the bowling department, the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Shami, gives an opportunity for Mukesh Kumar to make his mark. Despite West Indies' being a formidable side at home, India should start as slight favourites for the series.
Talking of the West Indies, a format change will do well for them after a forgettable 2023 World Cup qualifiers. It will be the first 50-over World Cup edition, where the Caribbeans will not be present. Hence, they will hope to channelize that aggression into beating a mighty Indian side. Should the hosts accomplish a series win, it will be their biggest victory in a long time.
While the Caribbeans' batting unit looks shaky, they have a reasonably envious bowling unit. The likes of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, and Alzarri Joseph make up for a promising bowling unit. Hence, they should fancy rattling a slightly inexperienced Indian batting line-up.
Despite the West Indies not registering a Test win over India since 2002, the former leads the head-to-head record, winning 30 out of the 98 Tests held.
When and where to watch The 1st Test between West Indies and India?
Match Timings: 07:30 PM IST
Live Broadcast: DD Sports
Live Streaming: JioCinema and FanCode
Predicted XI for both teams:
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymond Reifer, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Jason Holder, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua da Silva (wk), Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan/KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat
