An unchanged Indian side won the toss and elected to bat first in the second and final Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday.
India lead 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, winning his first coin toss as India’s Test captain, said he chose to bat first to post a big total on a pitch expected to assist spinners as the match progresses. “The wicket looks good to bat on day one. We want to pile on the runs,” he said.
“To be able to repeat performances and maintain the same intensity in every match we play is something we often speak about, and that’s what we are trying to achieve in this Test as well,” the skipper added.
Reflecting on his new responsibilities, Gill said: “Honestly, not much has changed. I am still the same person but definitely have more responsibilities now. I like responsibilities and see a very exciting future for me across all formats.”
West Indies have brought in Anderson Phillip and Tevin Imlach in place of Brandon King and Johann Layne. Skipper Roston Chase said pacer Phillip was included for his ability to strike early with the new ball, while keeper-batter Imlach has been included to tackle spin.
“We would have batted first too; the pitch looks dry, so we are not too worried. We had meetings and deep discussions about our batting. We want to bat for 90 overs and play every ball on its merit for a long time. Imlach is from Guyana and is used to these types of surfaces,” Chase said at the toss.
In the pitch report, Ian Bishop described it as a “pitch of two halves” — live grass patches holding the deck together, and bald areas expected to help spinners as the game progresses. Deep Dasgupta said the pitch could play two-paced despite its 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, 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, Jayden Seales
