India hand debut to Auqib Nabi, elect to bowl against West Indies

India handed Auqib Nabi his international debut after winning the toss and opting to bowl against the West Indies in the second Test at Guwahati. India lead the three-match series 1-0 after an eight-wicket win in Thiruvananthapuram.

Guwahati: Auqib Nabi has been handed his debut cap as India won the toss and elected to bowl first against the West Indies at the ACA Stadium in Barsapara on Wednesday. India are leading the three-match series 1-0, after winning the series opener in Thiruvananthapuram by eight wickets.

A win on Wednesday will help them clinch the series with a game to spare. Nabi, who picked 60 wickets in Jammu & Kashmir winning the Ranji Trophy earlier this year, got an India call-up for the Test series in Sri Lanka, but didn’t get to make his debut. In Guwahati, he finally gets to play international cricket for India, with him replacing Nitish Kumar Reddy in the playing eleven.

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Nabi is also the third player from Jammu & Kashmir to play for India after Parvez Rasool and Umran Malik. “A bit more grass, and looks a little bit patchy at times. So I think there’ll be a little bit more for the fast bowlers initially. Definitely, after being put under pressure in the first 20-25 overs, the way we came back was really good. It’s even more humid and hotter here, so I think it’s gonna be a good challenge for our fast bowlers.

“Definitely. I think the intensity in the field in the middle overs is what dictates the game, and I think that is one area where I thought we could have been a little bit better in the last game. So hopefully I think this game is going to be a bit better. I think everyone looked well. Even Rohit bhai was looking in good touch, so hopefully it’s gonna be another good game for us,” said India captain Shubman Gill.

West Indies captain Shai Hope said the side have made four changes:- Justin Greaves, who is ruled out due to a calf injury sustained while hitting 101 in Thiruvananthapuram is out, as well as Jewel Andrew, Matthew Forde, and Gudakesh Motie. In place of the quartet, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Shamar Joseph, and Vitel Lawes have come in.

“Definitely would have fielded as well. For sure, coin toss is a 50-50 chance, and regardless of what happens, we got to do well. So we’ve got another opportunity today to put some runs on the board and try to get a good score and give our bowlers something to defend. Probably a bit more runs than that, to be fair.

“But just about understanding and identifying the areas we need to improve and finding ways to get better at them as quickly as we can. It’s not much of a big turnaround between games.

“So it’s about going out there, putting your best foot forward and finding the right solutions to win games. It (the batting line-up) looks pretty good. I just think it’ll probably do a little bit to start, but we just have to assess quickly and then see what a good score would be at the back end,” he said.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna

West Indies: John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (captain & wk), Amir Jangoo, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales, and Vitel Lawes