India eye Windies home series boost ahead of Aussie tour

Rajkot, Oct. 2: Stung by defeat in England and heading to Australia for a tough tour next month, India’s cricketers are looking for some confidenceboosting home victories against the West Indies from Thursday.

The number one Test side and the winner of last week’s Asia Cup start as favourites against the eighth- ranked West Indies in the series of two Tests, five one- day internationals and three twenty20 games.

Holding on to the number one position despite a 1- 4 loss to England, India will look to maintain their status in the ICC Test rankings.

In the series that starts on Thursday, India will be looking to ensure they do not lose any points in a bid to maintain their top position. India lead the table with 115 points but only stand to gain one point even with a 2- 0 series win owing to the large difference in rating points with the West Indies. On the other hand, India can slip to 108 points with an unlikely 2- 0 loss and Australia could overtake them if they defeat Pakistan 2- 0. For the West Indies, even a 2- 0 series win will at best help them bridge the gap with Pakistan and Sri Lanka but will not pull them up from their present eighth position.

“West Indies doesn’t have a team to compete against India. They don’t stand a chance at all,” veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh said ahead of the first Test in Rajkot starting on Thursday.

But India may not find it so easy, with series defeats this year in England and South Africa revealing some serious chinks in India’s armour, at least away from home. India, under talismanic captain Virat Kohli, have new faces in uncapped batsman Mayank Agarwal and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj.

Siraj will bolster the pace attack led by Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav who could trouble the relatively young West Indian batting line- up.

Meanwhile spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are a formidable force on home turf. The Jason Holder- led West Indies are arriving off the back of a successful home season where they drew a Test series against Sri Lanka and then drubbed Bangladesh 2- 0.

Batsman Sunil Ambris has already made his case for a place in the team XI after his unbeaten 114 in the tourists’ only warm- up game in India.

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No matter whom we play, whether it is Australia, England or West Indies, it is important to improve our own standard. Our goal will be to play some good cricket, definitely to dominate from the first match and improve as a batsman, as a bowler and as a team, that would be the focus — AJINKYA RAHANE