India eye a first on foreign soil

If Virat Kohli’s team wins Pallekele Test, it will be its first clean sweep overseas

it doesn’t seem the cricket gods are smiling on Sri Lanka.

After the morale-shattering defeats, their plans to gain some momentum by working things out in the nets were washed away by heavy downpour for the last two days. With their main pacer, Nuwan Pradeep, and spinner, Rangana Herath, unavailable, Sri Lanka will start on the back-foot.

It has put the home team in a fix over the type of wicket to go with. Up against an opponent with superior arsenal in every department, their best chance is to get a face-saving draw. But given the Pallekele turf’s assistance to bowlers, Sri Lanka’s main challenge on the eve of the game seemed to be getting grass off the playing surface.

Continuous rain since Thursday afternoon denied them the opportunity to work on the surface, which had a fair share of grass. The sun came out at noon, leaving the ground-staff less than 24 hours for patch-up work, with chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya overseeing the operation. But despite heavy work, the wicket retains its green colour.

Desperate to avoid a whitewash, Sri Lanka would be hoping for a change in luck at toss, get to bat first and put runs on the board. In the first two Tests, they had to battle the scoreboard pressure with India posting 600-plus scores after batting first.

Sri Lanka’s lack of bench strength lays exposed and they will put out one of their most inexperienced attacks in the absence of Herath and Pradeep.

Even though Ravindra Jadeja holds the No 1 spot in ICC rankings, his absence should hardly affect India’s spin strength as R Ashwin remains the spearhead.

Given the conditions, it remains to be seen if India opt for an extra pacer. If they stick to the two-spinner, three-pacer combination, Kuldeep Yadav could play his first overseas Test. The chinaman bowler will be confident after his sterling show in his debut Test against Australia.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar could get a look-in as the third pacer depending on the grass cover.

India skipper Virat Kohli will be looking beyond this Test. He knows the true test will come in the next two years, with visits to South Africa, Australia and England lined up. The green turf and seaming conditions will be a good indicator of what lies ahead for his team.