Past imperfect, India to play safe
Rohit unlikely to open, Kohli prefers to go with specialists Dhawan, Mukund in 1st tie
On paper, it looks a mismatch -- India, the No 1 ranked side in the world, up against a team caught in transition, Sri Lanka, struggling even against bottom-placed sides, that too at home. But if there is one venue in Sri Lanka that can lift their players’ spirits and inspire them to produce extraordinary efforts, dig deep into their reserves, it is the Galle International Stadium.
Be it the majestic wall of the Galle Fort that provides the background, the waves of the Indian Ocean lapping the open parts beyond the ground, there is something about playing here that has lifted the home team to play their best cricket.
As a dominant Indian team comes calling, Sri Lanka will be banking on their excellent record at Galle. Having won 17 of their 29 matches, it has come to be known as their bastion.
India anyway won’t take chances and will field regular openers Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund in the absence of KL Rahul, who is down with fever. Skipper Virat Kohli said the team was unlikely to ask Rohit Sharma to open.
‘NO EXPERIMENT’
“We only have two openers (fit to play),” Kohli told the pre-match media conference. “We don’t see that kind of experiment happening here. This scenario gives others (a chance) to show what they are capable of and have a solid performance and stay with the team for a longer time,” he said. All-rounder Hardik Pandya is also being considered.
In their last three meetings, India have lost two and won one, while overall it is 3-1 for the hosts. And it seems it is by design they schedule the series opener here because all three wins have been in the first game of the series. In 2008, the Galle game came in the middle of the series and India surprised the hosts.
Generally, the surface is known to aid spin. This time, the curator has left a fair grass covering and a hard base means assistance for pacers and batsmen before the spinners come into play.
Like most games here, the contests between India and Sri Lanka too have been thrilling. On this wicket, only the bold thrive. It is not a surface where you look to play the waiting game; here one needs to be adventurous, take one’s chances because one is never in. But at the same time, for stroke-makers, there is good value.
Any ball will have your name written on it and it’s about putting runs on the board while you are in the middle than looking to survive.
You don’t have to look any further than the last Test India played here in 2015. India needed just 176 to win with lot of time in hand, but were dismissed for 112 in 49.5 overs.
Till then, they had dominated almost every sessions in the game and Sri Lanka needed Dinesh Chandimal’s stunning 162 not out to set even that target.
TEAM COMPOSITION
India’s bowling has been a revelation in recent years. While earlier its strength lay in spinners , now it also has a varied and highly effective pace attack.
It has left the team management with a tricky call to make on the combination. Usually, India prefer a three-man pace and twoman spin attack. Here, they may reverse the combination.
R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja (spin) and Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar pick themselves on form and performances. It leaves Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav to fight for the fifth bowler’s spot.
India’s jinx with the opening continues. Here, they will be without their first-choice pair of Murali Vijay (injured) and KL Rahul (fever). It leaves Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund and Rohit Sharma with a chance to make the XI.
On the eve of the match, captain Virat Kohli said they would go in with their regular opening combination, which means Dhawan will play with fellow lefthander Mukund. The Indian skipper also revealed they are considering blooding Hardik Pandya.
Given the strength of their batting, India should be confident of coping with the last-minute loss of Rahul.