That stranglehold is gone, the dominance has diminished and now India need to find a way to regain the control when they face off against a resurgent West Indies side in the third Test at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet on Tuesday.
Seemingly on their way to a comfortable win in the second Test, India were thwarted by rain, poor decisions and executions and some wonderful West Indies batting, something that Virat Kohli and his team will need to correct if they are to clinch this four-match Test series on St. Lucia.
Get the confirmed lineups of the two teams HERE
The great thing to take out of the second Test is that, West Indies finally competed. They showed that this series and playing the longform of the game means something to them, and the manner in which Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich and Jason Holder calmly went about snuffing out India's chances of a victory was heartening to see.
The important thing for the home team to do now is keep moving forward. All the heroic batting in the Jamaica match will mean little if the West Indies fold up quicker than a house of cards again in St. Lucia, on a wicket that is expected to have plenty of life in it for the fast bowlers.
One step forward, two steps back will not help West Indies cricket as far as Test matches are concerned, so the key for the home side will be to take advantage of the doubts that would have cropped up in the India camp after that draw and make sure they capitalise on it.
A couple of changes will be made by the West Indies for this Test match, with India also set to ponder over a few, most likely in their bowling lineup, after he five bowlers in the second Test match failed to force their way through the West Indies batsmen.
The bowling will be the key. If Mohammed Shami can lead from the front again with his pace bowling, if Ishant can step up a little bit more, if R Ashwin can do what he did in the second innings of the first Test and first innings of the second Test, across the board in the third, India should be able to seal this series.
It is a big if though. Because, as the West Indies showed in Kingston, they have a middle order and lower middle order loaded with talent, determination and guts and those are great ingredients to have in Test match cricket.
Where to Watch Live
The 3rd Test match is scheduled for a 10 a.m. local time (7.30 p.m. IST, 3 p.m. BST) start. Live Streaming and TV information.
India: TV: Ten 2, Ten 3 and Ten 1 HD. Live Streaming: Ten Sports Live.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 3. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go.
UAE: TV: Ten Cricket.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV online.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport 2. Live Streaming: SuperSport.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports 5. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
