India won the first Test of the two-match series against the West Indies rather comfortably in Ahmedabad and will look to do more of the same in the capital, starting Friday, October 10. It is expected to be a black soil wicket, which will most likely be good for the batters and like Ahmedabad, batting first might be a good option in the capital. It has been a week of rain and changed weather in Delhi and it is expected to be pleasant conditions and the bowlers might get early help in the morning sessions.
India have an option of adding Devdutt Padikkal, an extra batter into the line-up but having not used Nitish Kumar Reddy much, the hosts might be keen to give him some match time. Reddy bowled just four overs in the match and didn't get to bat as Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja slammed centuries and stitched a marathon 206-run partnership for the fifth wicket and India decided to declare overnight, having already taken a lead of 286 runs.
Given how well Jurel did, India also wouldn't want to create an unnecessary headache for spots, given Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan are likely to come back for the South Africa series. Then where does it leave Sai Sudharsan? Well, it does help when the team management and captain are backing you to the hilt and Sudharsan, who got out for a single-digit score in Ahmedabad, definitely has that.
Sudharsan has shown glimpses of what he can do, with a half-century in England and good knocks in the A games before the series but is yet to replicate consistently in Test cricket. Who knows, a good innings in Delhi might help him play all the games in the home season and then a decision is taken?
Then leaves the final decision regarding the XI... Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian spearhead has been rested for the ODI series against Australia and has had a few days of rest since the Ahmedabad Test, so India will be hesitant in making changes to the XI that eventually achieved a victory by an innings and 140 runs.
India's likely playing XI for 2nd Test in Delhi: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
