If anything, the contest seems to be whether the match will last two days or three. If anything, the debate was whether cricket needs a second tier. No disrespect to the West Indies but the conversation in the pre-game press conference was all about how the team for the Caribbean can find its mojo again. And that was the case when coach Darren Sammy spoke to the media on Wednesday as well.

“The troubles we have didn’t start now. I know I am under the microscope. Our problems don’t lie on the surface. The immediate fix is to encourage the guys to train better and have a better mindset,” Sammy told reporters on Wednesday. “The only way we can match up and compete is if we are prepared to outwork the opposition. We’re not doing that. That’s where I’ve challenged them. When we train, we have to be more precise and purposeful. We cannot have the opposition outworking us. That is the biggest issue for me. You don’t need to have talent to work hard.”

India is one of the toughest places to tour and when one does well here, others take notice. If the West Indies can show some spirit and push the Indians, they will take a step in the right direction. That is where the way back will begin.

Confidence, skipper Roston Chase argued on Thursday, isn’t the problem. “I don’t think the guys are lacking confidence. But it’s just to get that one score, to get that start and to then kick on from there,” Chase said. “It just takes one… get that good innings or that hundred or that big fifty, that then gives you the confidence to actually think ‘I can do it’.

“I think everyone is confident, but when we get out there, we didn’t start well as a batting unit and the pressure is on, and it’s for us to soak up that pressure as batters, and still find a way to score, put pressure back onto the Indian bowlers. That is the biggest challenge for us. We just need to get that start and kick on. And we’ll be fine.”

For India, the challenge comes in the form of complacency. But with World Test Championship points on offer, Gill & Co are on their toes. “I don’t think your intensity drops down depending on the opposition, it doesn’t matter who we are playing, we want to be able to play at our own intensity, and when you are playing for India, you don’t need external motivation to be able to up your intensity, it doesn’t matter if you are playing West Indies, Bangladesh or State, we want to be able to play at our own intensity, and we want to maintain our own standards,” said Gill.

Many in the Indian team are expecting the pitch, as it usually is at the Kotla, to be on the drier side and that should mean that the spinners will once again be in business. The key for both teams will be to bat big in the first innings.