Indians eye series victory

Despite two pieces of good news for Sri Lanka, both arriving with less than 24 hours to go for the start of the second Test, India appear primed to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here at the Sinhalese Sports Club cricket ground.

While regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal declared himself fit to be picked after missing the first Test at Galle last week due to pneumonia, Rangana Herath, who did the duties of stand-in captain during Lanka’s 304-run loss, will be starting in the first 11 here on Thursday. Chandimal’s return to the side not only plugs the leadership vacuum but also provides Lankan batting some spunk and stolidity.

The availability of Herath, who had bruised his left middle finger while fielding on the fourth day of the Galle encounter, is equally crucial for the hosts on a “dry” surface which, if the home skipper is to be believed, is expected to turn after the second day itself.

Having rolled out an absolute batting beauty at Galle, where the Indian batsmen feasted and their superior bowling unit bent its back to subdue a depleted home batting, Lanka seem to have decided to provide something for their bowlers in the second match. The tactic in the first Test may have been to blunt the edge Indian attack had but it spectacularly fell on its face. Virat Kohli described the SCC pitch as “pretty nice and hard underneath with good covering of grass”, but that assessment was based on his observation of the surface on Tuesday. On the eve of the match, however, the grass had been shaved off in a clear indication that they are going to offer more for their spinners after the Galle disaster.

With two of the finest spinners in their ranks in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Lankan strategy isn’t fraught without any danger. Ashwin was their main tormentor in India’s series win last time and he has started off with four wickets in the first Test. Jadeja was the most successful with six for the match and the two would be licking their lips at the abrasive look of the pitch. But then, this is the best way they can draw some level-playing field with the No 1 ranked team in the world. Given India’s travails on turners in recent times – Pune match against Australia earlier this year being the latest example – Lanka may have been encouraged to go for a spin-friendly wicket.

To back their plan, they have also decided to include Malinda Pushpakumar, the 30-year-old left-arm spinner who has 558 wickets in just 99 first-class matches. This will be a debut for Malinda who has been unable to make the cut because of the giant presence of Herath who also bowls left-arm spin. Off-spinning all-rounder Dilruwan Perera completes a three-pronged spin attack with Nuwan Pradeep being the lone pacer.

India may also contemplate bringing in left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who had a great debut against Australia in Dharamsala earlier this year, and probably leave out paceman Umesh Yadav. They have Hardik Pandya to share the new ball with Mohammad Shami. All this, however, will depend upon how they assess the pitch. Kohli also made it more or less clear that a fit-again KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan will open the innings for India. Though Abhinav Mukund did well in the second innings of the first Test with a confident 81, Dhawan’s 190 in the first hit obviously has had more impact which Kohli averred to on Wednesday. Rahul is just taking the place which was rightfully his in the first place. With rest of the unit well-settled, the visitors will be keen to wrap up the series before they visit Kandy for the final Test.