What

The second Test of the three-match series between West Indies and India

When

June 28 – July 2, 2011. The game begins at 7:30 pm, IST.

Where

Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. India had to bear the ignominy of being bowled out for 81 when chasing a paltry fourth innings target of 120 set by the West Indies in March 1997 at the Kensington Oval. They have never won a Test at this venue.

The Teams:

Like in the ODI series, it is the hosts’ batting which caused their downfall in the first Test. Having bowled India out for 246 in the first innings, one would have hoped for the West Indies to have taken a lead on the basis of their first innings performance. But barring Adrian Barath, none of their top order batsmen consistently defied the Indian attack in both innings.

With Brendan Nash now making way for the uncapped Kirk Edwards for this match, Marlon Samuels should get a place in the playing eleven, a move that will undoubtedly bolster the hosts’ middle-order. Samuels does not have an outstanding Test record (averages 28.84 from 30 Tests) but with an aggressive mindset can look to take the attack to the Indians if he gets going. Nevertheless, it will take a huge turnaround by all the West Indies batsmen if they are to do better at Barbados.

India won the first Test by 63 runs riding on yet another gritty batting performance by Rahul Dravid. However, one wonders what course the Test would have taken had Darren Sammy not dropped Dravid when he was only on six before going on to make 112 in the Indian second innings. Murali Vijay, in particular, needs to fire for India at the top of the order. The opening batsman’s last five innings have seen him score just 73 runs cumulatively.

With the bowling attack on both sides having shown the ability to take 20 wickets at Sabina Park, it will once again come down to which side bats better at Bridgetown.

Venue Stats:

West Indies– played 46, won -21, lost – 9, tied – 0, draw – 16 – win percentage – 45.65

India– played 8, won - 0, lost – 7, tied – 0, draw – 1– win percentage – 0.00

Highest total in an innings: West Indies 749/9 decl. in 194.4 overs v England - February 26, 2009

Lowest total in an innings: India 81 in 35.5 overs v West Indies – March 27, 1997

Best individual score in an innings:Hanif Mohammad (Pakistan) – 337 v West Indies- January 17, 1958

Best bowling figures in an innings:Lance Gibbs (West Indies) 53.3-37-38-8 v India – March 23, 1962

Average first innings score at Kensington Oval: Overall - 340, since 2000 – 336

Average second innings score at Kensington Oval: Overall - 350, since 2000 – 349

Result summary:

Head-to-head:

Form guide (most recent listed first):

India: Won, Drawn, Won, Lost, Won (3 wins, 1 loss)

West Indies: Lost, Lost, Won, Drawn, Drawn, (1 win, 2 losses)

The Squads:

India: MS Dhoni (c & wk), VVS Laxman (vc), Subramaniam Badrinath, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Abhinav Mukund, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ishant Sharma and Murali Vijay

West Indies: Darren Sammy (c), Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh (wk), Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach and Kirk Edwards.

All stats are as onas on June 26, 2011