India vs West Indies second Test: Team India justified in fielding the best Playing XI

Before the second Test between India and West Indies started, there were a lot of speculations going around as to what should be India’s experimental playing XI keeping in vision the tour of Australia.

But, by the end of the second Test, the team management was justified in fielding the best playing XI against the West Indies.

Scope for changes

For Hanuma Vihari, the wait continues

India were expected to make three possible changes for the second Test.

1. Mayank Agarwal for KL Rahul

2. Hanuma Vihari for Ajinkya Rahane

3. Shardul Thakur for Mohammed Shami

Out of the three possibilities, India did make one change, Thakur for Shami. But it was quite unfortunate that Shardul Thakur’s debut Test lasted just 10 deliveries before he limped off the field. The team management resisted the temptation to affect the other two changes.

The justification for fielding the best playing XI

# There was, after all, a Test match to be won at the end of the day and the team couldn’t look far ahead than the job in hand.

# Before the West Indies series, Team India were on a run of 9 consecutive Test series wins at home. They could not afford to jeopardise that record.

# Both KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane were woefully out-of-form and they desperately needed a hit or two in the middle before embarking on the Australian tour. It was another matter that Rahul failed yet again. But, Rahane made use of that opportunity to come back into some decent form. Rahane’s partnership with Rishabh pant was the turning point of the match.

# Had India given a chance to Agarwal and Vihari and even if they had been successful against the Windies, they would not be in the starting XI for the Adelaide Test in any case. In such a scenario, any failure against the depleted West Indies team would have dented their confidence going into the Australian series. Now it is safe to say both Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari would be very much there in the squad to Australia and they can look to launch from there. A one-off Test at Hyderabad would not have helped their cause in any manner.

# The West Indies ran India so close in the second Test though the margin of defeat would suggest otherwise. They were very much in the game in the first seven sessions of the Test match. Only in the last two sessions, the West Indies lost their way and surrendered the match without any fight. Team India were stretched in the second Test and needed all their best resources to snuff out the West Indian challenge.

# Unlike in one-day matches, teams don’t shuffle the playing XI too much in Test matches but for a heavy defeat in the previous match. In the Asia Cup match against Afghanistan, India made five changes which came under severe criticism. It was an inconsequential one-day match where the stakes were less. But at Hyderabad, India had everything to play for to maintain their winning streak intact.

# Had the Windies managed to win against India’s second best playing XI, the team management would have been taken to task for their complacent approach. It also would have shattered the confidence of the team before the all-important Australian series.

Looking back, Team India were quite justified in fielding the best playing XI for the second Test against West Indies. Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari would certainly get their opportunities in future, though not on friendly conditions.