Key Points

Shubman Gill has won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test against West Indies. The Indian team remains unchanged, looking to build on their comprehensive first Test victory. West Indies has introduced Anderson Phillip and Tevin Imlach to their lineup, hoping to challenge India's momentum. The match promises an intriguing battle on a pitch that is expected to increasingly support spin as the game advances.

Key Points: Gill Leads Unchanged India in Crucial 2nd Test vs West Indies

  • India aims to maintain 1-0 series lead with strategic batting approach
  • West Indies makes two key changes to playing eleven
  • Pitch expected to favor spinners as match progresses
  • Gill embraces captaincy responsibilities across formats
3 min read

2nd Test: Unchanged India elect to bat first, West Indies bring in Philip and Imlach

Shubman Gill wins toss, opts to bat first in decisive second Test as India seek series victory over West Indies

"We want to pile on the runs. - Shubman Gill, India Test Captain"

New Delhi, Oct 10

An unchanged India have won the toss and elected to bat first in the second and final Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.

India are leading the two-match series 1-0 after thrashing the West Indies by an innings and 140 runs inside three days in the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Shubman Gill, who finally won his first toss as India's Test captain, said his aim to bat first was due to get a big total early on a pitch expected to aid spin as the match progresses. "The wicket looks good to bat on day one. We want to pile on the runs."

"To be able to repeat performances and to be able to have the same intensity in every match that we play. Something that we often speak about and that's what we are trying to look for in this test match as well."

"Honestly, not much. I am still the same person but definitely have more responsibilities now. But I like responsibilities and a very exciting future for me (on being elevated across all formats)," he said.

West Indies have brought in Anderson Phillip and Tevin Imlach in place of Brandon King and Johann Layne in their playing eleven. Skipper Roston Chase said bringing in pacer Phillip was due to him being good in making early strikes with the new ball, while keeper-batter Imlach is regarded as a better batter against spinners in the set-up.

"We'd have batted first, pitch looks dry, so not much worried. We had some meetings, some deep discussions about our batting. Want to bat 90 overs and gotta play every ball on its merit for long time. Imlach is from Guyana and is used to these sort of surfaces," he said.

In the pitch report, Ian Bishop described it as a 'pitch of two halves' - live grass patches holding the deck together and bald areas set to being spinners into play as the game progresses. Deep Dasgupta felt the pitch could be two-paced in nature, despite giving an initial patchy look.

Playing XIs

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj

West Indies: John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope, Roston Chase (captain), Tevin Imlach (wk), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip, and Jayden Seales

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Shubman Gill winning his first toss as captain - what a moment! Hope this brings him good luck throughout the match. The team looks confident after the first Test win.
A
Aryan P
I'm a bit concerned about our middle order. KL Rahul needs to convert his starts into big scores. Hope the unchanged lineup proves me wrong! 🤞
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Sarah B
Interesting pitch description by Bishop - "pitch of two halves." This could make for an exciting contest between bat and ball as the match progresses.
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Nikhil C
West Indies bringing in Imlach specifically for spin conditions shows they've done their homework. But our spinners Jadeja and Kuldeep are world class! 💪
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Kavya N
Hope we see another dominant performance from Yashasvi Jaiswal. The young opener has been brilliant in home conditions. Let's go Team India! 🏏
M
Michael C
While I support the team, I feel we should have given opportunities to some bench players in this dead rubber. But consistency is important too I suppose.

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