IND tour of WI 2023
WI vs IND, 1st Test

Preview 

Rohit Sharma-led team India will begin its Test Championship cycle 2023-25 against the Hosts West Indies in a 2-match test series. The first test match of the series will start on 12 July from Windsor Park, Dominica at 07:30 PM IST. The last test the Visitors played at this venue ended in a draw in 2011. And since 2011, WI hasn’t won a single Test at home against IND. West Indies lost their last home series to IND 0-2 in 2019. The Windies' batting lineup fell like a pack of cards against the Number one side in the World pace attack that featured the likes of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammad Shami.

And none of these three bowlers will be part of this series against West Indies this time. Team India's seam attack will be led by Mohammad Siraj and has some inexperienced players like Naveen Saini and Jaydev Unadkat who’ve played only 2 Tests each.

The Hosts, on the other hand, have all their key seamers in the squad. The likes of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, and Alzarri Joseph along with Jason Holder will be a force to reckon with. Rohit Sharma-led team India has made a big change in the batting as well, dropping experienced batter Pujara from the squad. This opens a window for the next generation of batters like Jaiswal and Gaikwad to represent India in the red ball format. Both the batters had an excellent IND T20 League 2023 for their respective franchises and they earned their maiden call for the national team.

Kraigg Brathwaite-led WI will back themselves against a young and less experienced Indian bowling attack. West Indies have won their last 3 consecutive Tests at home. One of these wins came against the English side while the others were against Bangladesh. However, that was more than a year ago. And in more recent times, The Caribbean side suffered a 2-0 series loss against SA in March of 2023. WI were bowled out for 251 and 106 runs in their two innings.

The number test side will be playing their first Test after the loss in Test Championship final against Australia. IND has dropped their star number three batter Cheteshwar Pujara for this series while Ajinkya Rahane has secured his place in the side after a good performance in the final against AUS. The flamboyant batters Yashaswi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad are in the race to make it to the playing XI in place of Pujara. And the 1st Test will be a big day for one of these young batters. The rest of the batting is almost the same as the last Test but Gill is likely to hold the number three spot.

So far 98 matches have been played in the Test format between WI and IND, out of which the Visitors have won 22 matches, while the WI team has won 30 matches. Apart from this, 46 matches have ended in a draw. Since 2002, IND has not faced defeat in a single Test series against the WI and has won 8 consecutive series so far.

Match Details

Match: IND tour of WI 2023, WI vs IND 1st Test

Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - Sunday, July 16, 2023

Time: 07:30 PM IST

Venue: Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica, WI

Pitch and Weather Report

This venue will host the opening match of the 2-match Test series between WI and IND starting this Wednesday. The average 1st innings score at Windsor Park is 249 runs while in the 2nd innings, it is 304. The track suggests that a 320+ total in the 1st innings should place the team in a comfortable position.

The pitch offers help for the pacers on Day 1 while batting gets easier on Day 2 and 3. It is a good wicket that promises a great contest between bat and ball throughout the 5-day Test. Teams batting first and second have won 2 matches each at this venue. Given the help on offer for bowlers on Day 1, we reckon it would be a better choice to bowl first and make the most of the conditions. 

The maximum temperature will remain at 30°C, with a low of 25°C with 63% humidity, and a wind speed of 22-26 Km/hr for the 1st Test match between WI and IND Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - Sunday, July 16, 2023. Light showers are expected for this game on the fourth and fifth day of the game, but might not impact the game that much. The second and third days will be partly cloudy, but there is no predicted chance of rain. Throughout the five-day final, there will be a gentle breeze, which could assist swing bowlers in troubling the batters.

WI vs IND Squads

WI: Kraigg Brathwaite (C), Jermaine Blackwood (VC), Joshua Da Silva (WK), Alick Athanaze, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Jomel Warrican.

IND: Rohit Sharma (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mukesh Kumar, Axar Patel, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat

WI vs IND Probable Playing XIs

WI: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Reifer, Jermaine Blackwood, Rakheem Cornwall, Kirk McKenzie, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

IND: Rohit Sharma (c), Shumban Gill, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini


Match Prediction

The Hosts will be eyeing their 1st home win against Rohit Sharma-led team India in Tests since 2011. They’ve been impressive in their last few home games but they failed miserably against a strong Proteas side just a few months ago. There is a lot of unpredictability as far as the WI is concerned. The Hosts haven’t been reliable in any format of the game in the recent past. India will prove to be too strong for the hosts even with a less experienced bowling attack. IND is big favourite to win in our match prediction.

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket

Team 1

Team 2