India v/s West Indies 2nd Test Preview: The Little Master's Farewell Match

So the time which every cricket fan was dreading is here. Sachin Tendulkar’s glittering career spanning an awe-inspiring 24 years comes to an end in his home city of Mumbai, as India face the West Indies in the second and final Test of their series. The build-up to the opening day on Thursday has been dominated by tributes to arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen, who has amassed 51 Test and 49 ODI hundreds during a career that has coincided with the rise of India to a dominant power in the game. It will be an emotional moment for Sachin Tendulkar and the countless fans of Sachin Tendulkar as the god of cricket will take the field for one last time.

Sachin Tendulkar will want to go out with a bang, and given his penchant for rising to the occasion, expect him to be on top form and to give cricket fans everywhere something else to remember him for. Having got out to a contentious decision from umpire Nigel Llong in his penultimate Test match in Kolkata, the Master Blaster would love to end on a high while all his followers would be hoping that none of the West Indian bowler does what Eric Hollies did to Don Bradman in the Don’s final test.

Coming off a comprehensive victory, India wouldn’t want to make changes to their line up. India look to turn their 1-0 lead into a series win against opponents who have not beaten them in a Test for 11 years. India’s victory by an innings and 51 runs in Kolkata last week was founded on the contributions of two debutants, Rohit Sharma’s 177 and Mohammad Shami’s nine wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin also impressed with bat and ball, scoring 124 from No. 8 and taking five wickets in the match.

West Indies were disappointing in the first test with only Shane Shillingford a bright spot in their otherwise dull performance. West Indies will be hoping that Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul would get into the groove in order to get their team to a challenging total. Also the bowlers need to give an assisting hand to Shane Shillingford if they have to dismantle the strong Indian batting line-up cheaply.

While all the talk has been about Tendulkar, one cannot forget Chanderpaul, who would also be completing a milestone of his own - playing his 150th Test match. He would want to make it a significant occasion, but Tendulkar’s retirement and the reception he may get, may steal all the limelight irrespective of anything that happens on the field. Chanderpaul, who debuted back in 1994, can complete another milestone as he needs 103 runs to become the seventh batsman to score 11,000 runs in Test cricket.

Teams

India (from): MS Dhoni (capt. and wk), Shikhar Dhawan, M. Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma.

West Indies (from): Darren Sammy (capt.), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sheldon Cotterell, Narsingh Deonarine, Kirk Edwards, Chris Gayle, Veersammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford, Chadwick Walton.