After playing a lot of limited overs cricket in the recent past, Team India’s focus will yet again shift to the longest format of the game once they meet Sri Lanka in the opening Test of the three-match series starting at Galle on Wednesday. India will start as outright favourites without a doubt being the No. 1 side in the world but they shouldn’t take Sri Lanka lightly, as they still have some match winning players at their disposal.
Sri Lanka has found the going pretty tough in their rebuilding phase and their most recent ODI series loss against minnows Zimbabwe was just a testimony of how the level of cricket has dropped in the island nation. Herath will captain the side in Chandimal’s absence which might be a big loss for Sri Lanka given their fragile batting order.
India defeated them in their territory 2-1 in their last series in 2015 but the Lankans will gain confidence from the fact that they whitewashed Australia 3-0 in home conditions with a relatively inexperienced side. India, on the other hand, will miss the services of KL Rahul for yet another time, as the opener was ruled out of the opening Test due to fever.
It will be a monumental task for Sri Lanka to beat India given their dream run in the longest format of late but the home conditions will surely be beneficial for the Lankans. Herath will continue to be Sri Lanka’s trump card with the ball in hand and Mathew’s presence in the field will definitely help him taking his decisions.
Recent Form:
Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka created history very recently by chasing down 388 against Zimbabwe to win the One-off Test. It was the highest target chased in the sub continental conditions beating India’s 387/4 against England at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in 2008. Apart from their memorable test win against the minnows, the Lankans haven’t done anything substantial in the recent past and was whitewashed by South Africa 3-0.
Their rebuilding phase has put them in a precarious situation in world cricket at the moment and someone has to raise his hand and do the job for his team. Angelo Mathews, who stepped down from captaincy is also a member of the squad.
India:
The visitors had a memorable long Test season in their home conditions and won 10 out of the 13 Tests. Apart from Australia, not a single team could challenge the Indian team in their conditions. New Zealand was beaten 3-0, while the mighty English side was annihilated by a 4-0 margin followed by a victory in the one off Test against Bangladesh.
Australia performed brilliantly in the opening Test and defeated the hosts by a mammoth margin of 333 runs but the Indians didn’t allow the visitors to get away with the game especially in the 2nd and the final Test. The Indian pace brigade had bowled brilliantly but Ashwin and Jadeja will again prove to be Kohli’s trump card given the series is played in the sub-continent.
Talking Points
The last minute exclusion of KL Rahul due to fever will be a big loss for Team India and it remains to be seen whether Cheteshwar Pujara is promoted up the order just like the 2015 series or not. Umesh Yadav, who performed brilliantly in India’s long home season will undoubtedly spearhead India’s attack and will be ably supported by veteran Ishant Sharma.
This will be Mathew’s first Test series after resigning from captaincy. It will be an interesting sight to see Mathews walking out to the field as a non-skipper and another player taking the calls on the field.
Match Prediction:
There is no doubt about the fact that India is way ahead of Sri Lanka as far as numbers are concerned but in cricket, you never know what can happen. With a balanced unit, India will be backing themselves to start off their Sri Lankan campaign on a winning note.