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  • 2 months ago
Cricket analyst Fazeer Mohammed is warning that the men in maroon are in for a tough challenge when the West Indies open their two-match Test series against India in Gujarat.

It's been more than four decades since the Caribbean side last won a series on Indian soil as they remain a dominant force at home, boasting depth in both batting and spin bowling.

Mohammed says the visitors must raise their game significantly to have any chance of an upset.
Transcript
00:00West Indies coach Darren Sami recently said the Caribbean team's aim was to beat India
00:05in their own backyard in next month's two-match test series on the subcontinent.
00:10However, the Indians have a good record at home, winning 18 consecutive test series before
00:16being swept aside 3-0 by New Zealand last year.
00:19According to cricket analyst Fazir Mohamed, regardless of who plays for the Windies, it's
00:23going to be a tough series.
00:25But the reality is that the standard of cricket in our region when it comes to the longer
00:31game is so poor that it really doesn't matter in any significant way who is in the squad
00:37or who has been left out.
00:39The overall numbers are quite ordinary.
00:41In fact, in this squad of 15 players, no one averages over 35 in a test match cricket.
00:47It really reflects the situation even without someone like Craig Bradford, the former captain
00:54who has been dropped since playing his 100th test match.
00:57His presence would not have made a significant difference either because again, his average
01:01is quite ordinary.
01:03Mohamed has more faith in the West Indies bowlers than the batsmen.
01:06He says it was quite evident during the three-match test series in the Caribbean against Australia,
01:12despite the fact that the men in Maroon were pummeled.
01:14Yes, the West Indies were swept 3-0 and there was the humiliation of 27 all out, just the
01:19second lowest test match in the score ever.
01:22But the bowlers really stood up to the challenge.
01:25Yes, there were bowler friendly services, but Shammar Joseph, Al Zari Joseph, Jaden Sales really
01:31stood up and performed superbly in those conditions.
01:34They have got to repeat that, whether they can in the conditions in India, but probably
01:39will require a lot more patience, a lot more perseverance, a lot more consistency from
01:45those three faster bowlers with the support of the all-rounder Justin Graves and whoever
01:50happens to be the front line spinner who at this time would appear to be Jomel Warikans.
01:55Mohamed says it's left to be seen if the conditions in India would also favour the Pacers.
02:00Regarding the Indian batting, the well-respected cricket analyst acknowledges that it's top
02:05class.
02:06Make no mistake, when we look at how India would have performed with their top-order batting
02:10in the last series against England, in England, that five-match series which ended so thrillingly
02:16to all with a six-run victory for India to square the series, the Indian batters will certainly
02:22expect to perform a lot better in their home conditions and their numbers are quite impressive
02:27at the top, Yajasfi Jaiswal, averages over 50.
02:30Someone like a KL Rahul averages 35, which might be ordinary in general standards, but
02:36overall they've got players with a lot of experience, a lot of talent, a lot of quality.
02:41So what's Mohamed's prediction for the two games?
02:44It's difficult to see the West Indies even escaping with a draw in any of those two test matches
02:50unless there's a significant intervention from the elements.
02:54The last nine test series between the two sides saw India winning all of them.
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