When Virat Kohli heads to the middle for the toss ceremony decked in the India blazer, it will be difficult for him to avoid a rush of memories. It was here at the Sabina Park that he made his Test debut in 2011, and he now returns as the leader of a young Test team brimming with confidence.
A positive Virat welcomed the Jamaica pitch when reminded that the venue has not seen a drawn game since 1998. “Jamaica is going to be even better; it’s a result-oriented ground, we all know that. We’re quite excited about it. We’ve got good pace. The bowlers are bowling good areas. We’d just like to focus on that and believe that our batsmen are good enough to tackle any pace and bounce that West Indies’ bowlers have. The plan is to go out there and play with the determination and focus that we showed in the first game.”
With the pitch expected to assist fast bowlers, Virat said the batsmen will once again need to bat with responsibility as India will look to repeat their five-bowler strategy. “We need to be wary of the conditions a bit more because it is a ground that is result oriented. It’s obviously going to take more application than we showed at Antigua already. It’s going to take more responsibility and more concentration by the batsmen to get the job done. Ashwin came good at six, Saha played well, Mishi [Amit Mishra] got runs. That just deepens our batting line-up and gives us the same bowling options that are required to take 20 wickets.”
Virat added that it would be inappropriate to count the spinners out and focus solely on the quicks. “There's good bounce in this wicket. The last time we played a Test here, in 2011 [Mishra] and Harbhajan [Singh] both got good turn and bounce. So the spinner can't be left out of the game. “There is a second innings as well, we need to understand that. It's not overcast conditions and a green pitch where you will compromise on one spinner. You know that when the wicket dries up it will start turning and there is good bounce so the spinners will come into play. Like they did in the last game also, spinners can play a massive role. I think the roles will switch pretty drastically with each innings, that's what I feel, for all bowlers, and for that we have to have all bases covered for us to have enough options to take 10 wickets in the second innings also.”
Vijay ruled out but India bank on strong bench-strength
Such has been India’s preparation going into the Test series that there are hardly any areas of concern. With a 17-member squad, the visitors have options to deal with any calamity. M. Vijay, India’s dependable opener has been ruled out of the second Test due to a thumb injury, but the team-management is not too worried.
India have a backup option in KL Rahul, who has been equally effective in both the Test and the ODI format. With Test centuries in Australia and Sri Lanka, the youngster is ready to fill the void. “It's always great to have the players that we have on the bench, knowing that if anything happens to anyone or if someone's not being able to execute what he wants on the field, we still have options that are world-class,” said Kohli.
He backed Rahul to do the job for the team. “It's more a case of a guy waiting for an opportunity. You can see that with him (Rahul). You can sense it. He wants to play. He's batting really well; he wants to make it count. He wants to get big runs. I'm confident of his abilities. He's pretty compact, he's a solid opener, and he's a great fielder as well. Gives you that wicketkeeping option as well, in case something happens to Saha.
“All in all, he's a great package for the team and it's great to see that he's going to get a Test match. Obviously, unfortunately Vijay has to miss out because of injury. Not good for him. He's someone who has always done well for the team, always takes pride in playing for the country. He was not really happy with getting hit in the first innings, which is not in his control.
“KL is excited. KL is ready. KL is batting really well and that's obviously a very good thing for the team.”
