Sri Lanka in the quest for first Test win in India

• In Sri Lanka’s first full tour since 2009, skipper Dinesh Chandimal hopeful that his side would register their maiden Test win in India

indianexpress.com: The distance between the Great Eastern Hotel on Waterloo Street and Eden Gardens is less than a mile. The visiting Sri Lankan team is put up at this heritage structure that recently underwent a private company takeover and subsequent renovation.

It’s somewhat symbolic that the Islanders, too, are in a desperate need for a makeover, with regard to their performance against India. The first Test of the three-match series starts at Eden in a week’s time. And the visitors will have only one tour game—a two-day fixture against the Board President’s XI at JU Salt Lake Campus ground on Saturday and Sunday—to get into the groove.

This is Sri Lanka’s first full series in India since 2009. Angelo Mathews and Rangana Herath are the only survivors from that tour. Back then, Sri Lanka had lost the three-Test series 2-0. More pertinently, they are yet to win a Test in India. To set the record straight, they will have to overturn the huge odds.

India of late have been winning against Sri Lanka for fun. Just two months back Virat Kohli and company humbled the Lankans 9-0 across three formats in their backyard. Sri Lanka lost three Tests, five ODIs and the one-off T20 international on the bounce. After that they went to UAE and defeated Pakistan 2-0 in the Test series.

Dimuth Karunaratne and skipper Dinesh Chandimal performed well with the bat and Herath, who else, spun a web around the opposition. ‘Witchcraft’—as mentioned by Chandimal— or not, the success was a serious morale boost, their limited-overs leg meltdown against Pakistan notwithstanding.

“The series against India was a huge learner for us. If we didn’t learn from a very good team, then that would have been a big error. We learnt what the Indian team did very well and the areas we needed to improve. “It was a complete different series against Pakistan. We played there in 41 degrees heat; they had lost two legends (Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq). That probably made things a little bit easier for us. But the Indian team is very settled and all their players are their peak,” Sri Lanka coach Nic Pothas put things in perspective.

Changing team culture

The coach stressed that the team culture has changed. “I think what we have changed is the culture within the group. When we took on India, we were all pretty new, the support staff and the players involved. We are now a team that pride ourselves in our culture. We focus on ourselves. The mistake you can make here is come and be infatuated with the Indian side and concentrate too much on them. We know they are a good side. But we played them only a month ago. We have to concentrate on our strengths and jobs, and if we can execute them well it will be a challenging series.”

Against Pakistan, Sri Lanka chose a six-five combination and it worked beautifully. But playing India— a side that has won six Test series on the spin— is a different ball game. The visitors would prefer to be pragmatic, incorporating an extra batsman in the playing XI, who could be their fifth bowler as well.

Mathews in his earlier vintage could have comfortably fit into the slot. But the former captain is having a lean season. In six Test matches this year, Mathews has scored 328 runs at an average of 27.33. Injuries restricted his bowling and he has only two wickets to show for. Back to his full fitness, Mathews still looks Sri Lanka’s best bet in terms of striking the right balance. “If you are playing against India, and they have got some really good bowlers, we need to think about that allrounder position. We will see the pitch and come up with our plans,” Chandimal said. The 27-year-old made his Test debut in 2011, and this will be his first Test series in India.

In Sri Lanka, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had accounted for 30 opposition scalps between them. Asked about this, Chandimal said: “They are the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world. They‘ve bowled really well last couple of years. I don’t want to tell our plans in front of you. We have something up our sleeve.”

Divine intervention

Chandimal’s witchcraft confession after the Test series win against Pakistan had created controversy. No wonder that the Sri Lanka captain was asked about ‘meyni’ (sorcerer) during today’s press conference. Team manager Asanka Gurusinha stonewalled. 

“He has answered some questions back there. In cricket, you got to get out there and perform on the field. Each player has to do that. That’s the way the Sri Lankan team believe. Yes, we have our own religious beliefs like you. But at the end of the day, you go there and just play,” Gurusinha tried to put an end to the issue.

India’s Pandya rested for first two Sri Lanka tests'

Mumbai (Reuters): Hardik Pandya has been withdrawn from India’s squad for the first two tests against Sri Lanka to manage the all-rounder’s heavy workload, the country’s cricket board said on Friday.

The 24-year-old seamer and hard-hitting batsman has been a regular member of the Indian side in all three formats of the game and has been playing non-stop since the Champions Trophy in England in June.

Pandya was named in India’s squad for the first two tests against Sri Lanka and no replacement has been named.

“The all-India senior selection committee in consultation with the Indian team management has decided to rest all-rounder Hardik Pandya for the upcoming test series against Sri Lanka,” the BCCI said in a statement.

“Considering Mr Pandya’s heavy recent workload, the decision was made to negate any possibility of a major injury concern.

“Pandya will undergo a period of strength and conditioning at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.”

Kolkata’s Eden Gardens will host the opening match of the three-test series from Thursday with the second and third tests in Nagpur and Delhi.

India will also play three one-day internationals and the same number of T20s against Sri Lanka.

India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma