India vs West Indies: A One-Sided Affair On The Cards?

If the West Indies players were looking for motivation ahead of the four-match Test series vs India, they didn't need to look too far. The legendary Sir Vivian Richards stopped by at their practice session ahead of the first Test vs India, which starts on Thursday.

It will take more than just motivation though for the Windies to push Team India. They might have once been virtually unbeatable at home, but things have changed a lot for the Caribbean giants. They are currently ranked eighth in the ICC Test rankings, ahead of only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. India, on the other hand are ranked second, behind Australia. So is a one-sided affair on the cards then?

For India, the equation could be tricky. The Windies might not be a very tough opposition on paper, as of now, but even a 3-1 or 2-0 series win for India will see them drop points, purely because the Windies are a much lower ranked team.

The Test series is expected to see slow pitches and that will mean that the spinners might hold the key. The trio of R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja will be licking their lips in anticipation. But Team India and their new coach, Anil Kumble are not taking anything for granted, aiming to boost performance in all 3 departments.

As part of a social media session where he was taking questions from fans, Kumble said, "In the batting department we are looking at changing the mindset, changing from the shorter format to playing the longer format. From the bowling perspective, the focus is on consistent lengths and being boring. That's what you need to do when you play Test cricket. In fielding, the focus is definitely on catching, we all know how important catching is."

Another area which Kumble seems to be focusing on is grooming the lower middle order batting, including R Ashwin, who can be a rather useful all-rounder. Kumble has said, "I certainly believe that Ashwin is an extremely capable batsman. And we are also blessed with some of the other middle order batsmen who are extremely capable at the Test level, so the focus is not just on the bowlers bowling but also bowlers batting."

On what are expected to be slow pitches, it will be interesting to see how many bowlers Team India picks. One man who is hoping he is part of the playing XI is Stuart Binny. Binny has said, "My job is very simple when it comes to bowling. It's about bowling in good areas and keeping the runs to a minimum. I need to bowl spells to keep our fast bowlers fresh. So my job is to bowl good tight lines in a Test match and try and give as less runs as possible and maybe slip in a few wickets."

The Windies haven't won a Test series against any team, barring Bangladesh or Zimbabwe since August 2012. To say that Team India are favourites will be an understatement. But will the series really be a one-sided affair?