A batting-friendly pitch likely for second India-West Indies Test

The pitch for the second and final India-West Indies Test, which starts on October 10 in Delhi, will have patches of grass interspersed with bald areas, unlike the Ahmedabad pitch for the first Test that had an even grass covering.

The Delhi pitch will have a black-soil base and is likely to favour batters, with spin playing a role as the surface dries up gradually.

West Indies lost the first Test inside three days after electing to bat on one of the greenest pitches in India since the World Test Championship was launched in 2019. With four millimetres of live grass covering spread over a red-soil pitch coupled with good bounce, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj gleefully went about their job on the first morning as West Indies were all out in 44.1 overs. The visitors lasted just 45.1 overs in their second innings, suffering a bruising defeat by an innings and 140 runs.

The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, though, is understood to be more batting-friendly, coupled with a quick outfield and slightly shorter boundaries. The last Test played here was the second of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023. In that game, Australia, having elected to bat on a slow turner, lost by six wickets, inside three days.