Will West Indies break a 24-year old unwanted record in India this time?

There was a time when the West Indies cricket team won matches across the globe and were perhaps the most feared team across generations.

The West Indian team is all set to take on the might of Team India in a two-Test series starting October 4. This team will be looking to break a long standing jinx when they fight it out against Virat Kohli and company.

Jason Holder (L) of West Indies takes part in a training session under the watchful eye of coach Stuart Law (R). (AFP)

There was a time when the West Indies cricket team won matches across the globe and were perhaps the most feared team across generations. But post the early 90s, the fortunes of the Caribbean team has been on the wane. So drastic has been the fall for the Windies in Test cricket that they are now considered at par with teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

This fall from grace has had a direct impact on their results and the Windies in fact have not won a Test match on Indians soil for close to 24 years now.

The last time West Indies managed to win a Test was way back in December 1994, when they won the 3rd Test in Mohali by 243 runs to draw the series 1-1. That team had players like Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Carl Hooper, Jimmy Adams, Kenny Benjamin among others.

The Windies have since played 8 Test matches in India, losing 6 and managing to draw 2. This is the third longest duration for a top 8 team to be without a Test win on Indian soil.

New Zealand are without a win in India since November 1988 and Sri Lanka, who played their first Test in India in 1982, are yet to register a win on Indian soil.

So, the task facing Jason Holder’s young team is an onerous one and given India’s mastery of home conditions, it will be difficult for the men from across the Atlantic to break the jinx. But as they say, stranger things have happened on a cricket field.