India fret over pitch ahead of Windies opener

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India host West Indies in the  opener of their three-match series on Sunday with doubts over  the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium pitch, which will be hosting a test  for the first time since serving an international ban.
Kotla was handed a one-year ban after an India v Sri Lanka  one-dayer was abandoned in 2009 because of a dangerous pitch and  although a few limited-overs matches have been played since the  suspension ended, the rigours of a five-day match will provide a  sterner test of the surface’s credentials.
Delhi and District Cricket Association officials have been  quoted in the local media as saying they could not get the  “right mix” for the soil and were hoping the lack of bind would  not result in a crumbling wicket.
For India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the focus, however,  will be on banishing the memory of the team’s shambolic tour of  England.
Injury-ravaged India were whitewashed 4-0 in one of their  worst ever overseas performances, where they could not win a  single international match.
The test series whitewash also ended their run as the  top-ranked team and pushed them down to the third place in the  standings.
“The series against West Indies might well be the beginning  of our campaign to regain the number one test status,” middle  order stalwart Vangipurappu Laxman told the Hindu newspaper.
“After the dismal series in England, the tests against West  Indies are very important. We hope to start on a very positive  note and get back into the winning mood once again ahead of the  Australian tour,” the stylish right-hander added.
India will play four tests in Australia in December-January,  followed by two Twenty20 internationals and a tri-series also  featuring Sri Lanka.
The series against a West Indies team ranked seventh is  perceived as the perfect build-up for Australia.
India will once again be able to call on the services of  regular openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and the  middle order will look stronger with Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj  Singh also returning from injuries.
Tendulkar needs just one three-digit score to become the  first batsman to score 100 international centuries while Yuvraj  has already announced that his motivation would be to cement his  place in the test side.
With Zaheer Khan still recovering from ankle surgery and  off-spinner Harbhajan Singh dropped, both the pace and slow-ball  departments look inexperienced.
The bowlers, however, can bank on their batting colleagues  to put those extra runs on the board to place additional  pressure on the tourists.
Skipper Darren Sammy and his men looked ill at ease against  Bangladesh’s spin-heavy attack and a bigger test awaits them in  India where off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm spinner  Pragyan Ojha will do everything to make life miserable for them.
The tourists, however, can derive positives from their  series victory in Bangladesh.
In the second and final test in Dhaka, Kirk Edwards scored a  century in the first innings and 86 in the second, Darren Bravo  almost bagged a maiden double century and promising leg-spinner  Devendra Bishoo claimed a first five-wicket haul.
Kolkata hosts the second test from Nov 14 and Mumbai the  third from Nov 22.
Squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir,  Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu  Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant  Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Varun Aaron, Ajinkya Rahane,  Rahul Sharma.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton  Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo,  Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Kieran  Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon  Samuels, Shane Shillingford.