IND vs WI, 2nd Test: Mukesh Kumar Makes India Debut as West Indies Win Toss And Elect to Bowl – News18

West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in the second Test match at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. India made a change to their playing XI as Mukesh Kumar got the chance to make his Test debut as Shardul Thakur sustained a groin injury before the match.

Batting maestro Virat Kohli will be playing his 500th match and he will look to make it memorable with a big knock. He missed out on a century in the opening Test and was dismissed for 76.

Shubman Gill also needs to prove his mettle at the number three position as he himself asked the team management to bat there but missed out on playing a big innings in the opening Test.

Brathwaite informed that the pitch of the second Test will be different from the opening match as West Indies also made a couple of changes in their XI.

“We are gonna have a bowl first. Shannon comes back into the team. There’s some moisture on the pitch. McKenzie makes his debut today, he’s ready and raring to go. Bowling-wise we were okay. The first game is gone, we got to be mentally ready for the challenge. We had a few chats, we got to believe in ourselves. We came a long way, the matches between India and West Indies. Recently we haven’t won, looking to change it,” Brathwaite said at the toss.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma looked happy to bat first as he suggested that the pitch will get slower with time which will make it difficult to batters later in the match.

He also hailed debutant Mukesh and said he worked hard in the domestic circuit to make it into the Indian team.

“We were looking to bat first. Looks nice and sunny as well. It’s going to get slower and slower. Shardul has pulled up a niggle. He’s not fit. Mukesh Kumar is going to make his debut. He has worked hard in the domestic cricket. There’s lot of memories, the rivalry between the two teams has always been exciting to watch. It’s always been a tough tour, you have to work hard. Even in the last game, we had to work hard, especially the batters. Hopefully, we get the result we are expected of,” Rohit said.

West Indies (Playing XI): Kraigg Brathwaite(c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva(w), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Shannon Gabriel

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj