India look for clean sweep in cool Delhi as West Indies continue search for solutions

The late Khushwant Singh, one of the more illustrious lovers and residents of Delhi, called October in the city the "pleasantest" of all the months in the northern hemisphere. Like with most things Khushwant, the statement sparks lively debate, especially with lovers of spring in late February and March.

This is all relative now: with rampant urbanisation and climate change, it is now more about which months are less unpleasant and less harmful to your health. The BCCI has just about winged the most harmful time for elite athletes to undertake high-performance activity - not before being called out for it - and the early snowfall in the hills has cooled the temperatures to the usual October levels to tease those given to wistfulness for the Delhi of old.

Those given to wistfulness also yearn for the West Indies of the old. Not the one that lasted just 89.2 overs in the first Test. More importantly, not the one that looked unthreatening with the ball in an effort of 5 for 448. Not the side whose coach Daren Sammy has to hope a player will "accept" the opportunity when he calls to inform them they have been selected for West Indies.

There is not a lot West Indies can hope to change between the two Tests. Ahmedabad, with an early-season greenness on the pitch, was their best chance, but they were without the Josephs, Alzarri and Shamar. In Delhi, the onus will be more on the slower bowlers.

It doesn't help that India are somewhere close to their best after the blip against New Zealand last year. With the exception of Rishabh Pant, whose fractured foot hasn't fully healed yet, they are at full strength. They are keen on making this a clean sweep, which will take their WTC points percentage to 61.9, still in third place.

India WWDLW (last five Tests, most recent first)
West Indies LLLLW

Test cricket is not where you prepare players for the future, but like Hardik Pandya almost a decade ago, India want to give Nitish Kumar Reddy a proper workload in slightly lesser challenges so that he can be the seam-bowling allrounder India need not just in away Tests but also the ODI World Cup in South Africa in 2027. Ryan ten Doeschate, their assistant coach, said just that two days before this Test. In Ahmedabad, he got to bowl only four overs and didn't get to bat at all. It remains to be seen if India go out of their way to involve him more in this Test.

Jomel Warrican is the vice-captain of the side, their most experienced specialist spinner, and joint-most experienced bowler. But he averages 54.25 in four Tests against India, two each at home and away. He will want to do way better in Delhi than the 29-5-102-1 he returned in Ahmedabad.

India have no reason to change their XI. However, is B Sai Sudharsan feeling any heat, and is Devdutt Padikkal breathing down his neck?

India (possible): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudharsan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj

It doesn't make a lot of sense to change the batting on such a short trip. The one change West Indies might consider is bringing in Jediah Blades to give themselves a left-arm seam option.

West Indies (possible): 1 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 2 John Campbell, 3 Alick Athanaze, 4 Brandon King, 5 Shai Hope (wk), 6 Roston Chase (capt), 7 Justin Greaves, 8 Jomel Warrican, 9 Khary Pierre, 10 Johann Layne/Jediah Blades, 11 Jayden Seales

Delhi is likely to be a typical Indian track, good for batting on the first two-and-a-bit days before bringing the spinners into the game. The drop in temperatures should make it difficult for the pitch to break up suddenly. The week in the lead-up to the Test has brought some rain, but the Test is not likely to be affected.

"We think it would be unfair on the guy [Reddy] if we only play him overseas. Because that doesn't give him that many opportunities. In the next year and a half, we aren't playing that many matches outside of India, so to be able to back a guy who can bowl 10-15 overs in a day and can bat as well - we sat his ability and potential in Australia - so we want to give him as much game time in India to help him."
India captain Shubman Gill doesn't feel Reddy is an option only for overseas Tests

"If we complain about not having the best facilities, not having enough manpower like the other teams, not having the best technology, all these things which the other teams are superior to us [in], then why the hell are they still outworking us? The only way we could match up [and] compete at a consistent level is if we as the coaches and the players are prepared to outwork the opposition, and we're not doing that."
West Indies coach Daren Sammy wants his team to work harder to somewhat mitigate systemic inequalities