Sri Lanka Vs India 2017: Analyzing India’s Warm Up Encounter

Jul 23, 2017 at 12:54 PM

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Sri Lanka Vs India 2017: Analyzing India’s Warm Up Encounter

Playing a two-day warm up game against a decent Sri Lanka Board Presidents XI, the tourists got precisely what they needed. Barely a couple of days after landing on to the Sri Lankan shores, India were tested early on the first day thanks to some resolute batting from Lahiru Thirimanne and Danushka Gunathilaka.

 

Showcasing their inexperience on display though, the young Lankan outfit made an absolute mess of the chance, as after being at a comfortable position of 140-1 at one stage, the side wound up for just 187, in a little less than two sessions. India in response batted quite well, with several batsmen voluntarily retiring and getting some much-needed practice in the middle. The game came to an early close when India declared their innings for 312.

 

In a nutshell, by looking at the numbers alone, it is enough to say that the Indians got what they needed. Sri Lanka remains one of the most treacherous nations to play in, given the side’s knowledge of home conditions and the dominance. Thereby, bracing up to the task well in advance is always an essential while taking on Sri Lanka in their own den.

 

THE POSITIVES:

For the Virat Kohli led outfit, there stood plenty of positives to take. Making his return after a serious shoulder injury, KL Rahul showcased his elegance with a flawless half century, carrying on precisely from where he left against Australia. The fact that his knock came at a decent pace should be another fascinating aspect, given the opener’s flair of playing his strokes. Thus, saying that Rahul is truly back to his best wouldn’t be an inappropriate statement.

 

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane remain the fulcrum of this batting line up and like others, this duo too had a fruitful outing in the middle. Kohli oozed confidence right from the very offset, while Rahane took off from where he left in the Caribbean. On the team’s previous tour out here, both these enigmatic individuals had amassed attractive tons in the course of the series.

 

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit’s Sharma’s knocks in the middle too would provide plenty of satisfaction to that Indian camp. Both the Indian ODI openers haven’t played in this form of the game since the home Test series against New Zealand and were in urgent need to spend some quality time in the middle in whites. They managed to do just about that with knocks of 38* (Sharma) and 41* (Dhawan).

 

While these were the positives from the batting front, the bowling department too had plenty of positives. Kuldeep Yadav cleaning up the lower order along with Ravindra Jadeja was probably the biggest positive for the visitors. The form the Indian bowlers have been so far, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Sri Lanka is bulldozed in the matches to follow.

 

THE NEGATIVES:

Not a few to be honest and that’s some news for any Indian fan. Cheteshwar Pujara failing to convert his start was a minor blip, while Abhinav Mukund wasting the chance of a lifetime by getting a golden duck was a crime. Hardik Pandya too had the ideal opportunity to get himself in and acclimatise to the conditions with the bat, but he failed to do so.

 

THE VERDICT:

In all, the two-day fixture is a clear indication of the fact that India is well prepared to take on Sri Lanka in the three match Test series. With Shikhar Dhawan impressing in this game, he should be in line for his Test comeback, having missed the side’s two previous series’. The team combination though remains a mystery as the final call will only be taken after assessing the conditions on match day.

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