Mumbai: The sands of the island nation of Sri Lanka welcomed a relatively young Indian team led by skipper Virat Kohli with ‘open arms’ after five years. This year, Team India have played just one Test against Bangladesh, which resulted in a draw.
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(Photo: AP)
A little infantile in his career, Kohli has, till now not encountered any wounds to his captaincy. Although his batting has taken a hit in recently, the haughty customer slammed his critics when he said ‘captaincy won't be an added pressure for me in the tough assignment in Sri Lanka’ and he will look to play good cricket in the three-Test series that starts on August 12 in Galle.
The series looks to be a tough battle for both teams. Save Murali Vijay, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh, none of the Indian players have played a Test match against Sri Lanka on Lankan soil. Besides, there also exists a huge conundrum that the Indian think-tank is facing. Most of the talk ahead of the series has been on skipper Kohli’s strategy and team composition. He has now made it clear that he is a five-bowler captain – a change from ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s four-bowler and seven-batsmen preference.
Read: Time for excuses over, team is ready for challenges: Rohit Sharma
The batting order more or less looks settled now, with Dhawan and Vijay at the top followed by Rohit Sharma at No 3, a position Kohli insisted for the Mumbai batsman and one which may help Rohit, who broke all records scoring 264 in an ODI against Sri Lanka, prove his Test mettle.
India last won a series in Sri Lanka in 1993. Currently placed fifth in the ICC Test rankings, below Pakistan at the moment, this series holds important for them.
Kohli’s first full-fledged series as Test captain
This will be Kohli’s first full-fledged series as skipper of the Indian team. He may have featured in 34 Tests but he has never played one in Sri Lanka yet. The last time India won, Kohli was a five-year-old kid. Twenty-two years hence, fans will wait to see if his aggression does wonders for the team.
India’s doosra and carrom ball makers combine
The ‘Turbanator’ Harbhajan’s comeback to the Indian team has been phenomenal specially after being on a good run, first in the IPL, then at Fatullah (Bangladesh) and now has become an important cog in the wheel for Team India. Bhajji has proved to be a match-winner for India in both ODI and Test cricket. What makes this series all the more special is Ravichandran Ashwin’s presence in the spin mix.
While Harbhajan was India’s No 1 in the first decade of the 2000s, it was Ashwin who took over the mantle from him. Both these tweakers have their strengths and Sri Lanka’s slow pitches will be heavenly for them.
Amit Mishra back after four years
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra has been recalled to India's Test squad after a gap of four years. Mishra, 32, last played a Test in 2011 where he took Karn Sharma's place in the team that had travelled to Bangladesh in June. It was the only change to India's 15-man squad. In the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season, Mishra played six matches for Haryana and took 10 wickets at an average of 20.40. Three-spinners is an option and will possibly be ruled out but if one considers Harbhajan and Ashwin as serious all-rounders, it may just fall in place. Mishra also may feature in the playing XI.
Also Read: Fans call India-Sri Lanka series a mood spoiler, malaise
Kumar Sangakkara’s swansong
Words fall short to describe Sri Lanka batting great Kumar Sangakkara. The second Test on August 20, will be the last one for the prolific left-hander, who has been a living legend not only for the islanders, but for the entire cricket fraternity.
With over 12,000 runs at an average of 58.04, since making his Test debut in July 2000, Sangakkara has so far played 132 Tests amassing 38 centuries - the most by any batsman still playing Tests, way above second-placed Alastair Cook of England who has 9,000 runs and 27 hundreds.
The veteran may be below record-holder Sachin Tendulkar's Test tally of 15,921 runs and 51 hundreds, but his 11 scores of 200-plus are just one short of Australian legend Don Bradman's record of 12. His retirement will surely leave a vacuum in the Sri Lanka dressing room.
