New Delhi: Attacking middle-order batsman Suresh Raina feels that West Indies won’t be able to withstand India’s challenge and Virat Kohli & Co will win the Test series comfortably.
Raina also predicted that leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who performed well in the warm-up matches, will be the star of India’s successful campaign in the Carribean.
“India will win by a big margin,” Raina told India Today.
“And, Amit Mishra will be the star performer in this series.
“His ability to spin the ball on those pitches will make him most difficult for West Indies batsmen to handle in this series,” he added.
Raina said though the pitches in West Indies would be batting friendly, Mishra will be able to exploit the slowness in the pitches.
“The pitches will be good for batting, slightly slowish. Mishra knows how to use the conditions and be patient,” he said.
“I have a feeling this will be his series even though the other two spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have also bowled well in the side games.
“Anil (Kumble) Bhai’s inputs will give him ideas as well as confidence and that’s what a leg spinner needs.”
Raina feels that the slightly inexperienced West Indies line-up will not withstand the Indian challenge.
“Can’t say much about the players in this West Indies team but I don’t think they can stand up to the Indian challenge. They don’t have the same players they had till a few years back, even Dinesh Ramdin has been dropped.”
Raina didn’t rule out the possibility of India whitewashing the West Indies in their backyard.
“India will win comfortably, 3-0 or maybe even 4-0. I went to Bangalore for a day and the camp looked full of intent and the team looked so positive, Anil Bhai and Virat Kohli will surely make this a memorable tour for India,” he predicted.
“The heat can at times get to you so the bowlers will have to stay patient, especially when the ball gets older,” Raina concluded saying.