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Confident India take on jaded Sri Lanka

India under skipper Virat Kohli will be eager to extend their good run in Test cricket

By Unnikrishnan

Galle: India will look to extend their domination in Tests when they take on a jaded Sri Lanka in the first game of a three-match series starting here on Wednesday (July 26).

The world No 1 Virat Kohli and Co would be keen to avenge their embarrassing loss at the Galle International Stadium in 2015 when they were crashed to an embarrassing loss on day four after being bowled out for 112 while chasing 176.

Virat Kohli

A lot has changed since then as a young and aggressive Kohli has turned into a mature captain, who has led the side to 12 wins out of 17 Tests against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia in 2016-17 season.

The Indian team will be looking to take that confidence into this three-match series, which heralds the onset of a new season, and more importantly, another overseas cycle.

It also marks the second coming of Ravi Shastri at the helm of affairs. The team has been on-tour for five days now, and collectively they seem to have put the entire saga of Anil Kumble's premature departure as well as the dramatic coach- selection process behind them.

With Shastri back in charge, along with Bharat Arun guiding the bowlers, there is atleast a familiarity about the team's setting.

Shastri will also be wary about what playing at Galle entails for visiting teams. It was the 'team director' who had roused his hurting troops before the second Test in Colombo, and it worked just fine as India rallied from 0-1 down to take the series 2-1.

It also laid down the path for an impressive record in the next two years. It is the reason why the team management is not worried even as K L Rahul has been ruled out of the first Test owing to viral fever.

It means skipper Virat Kohli will have to go in with Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund as first-choice openers. Before the tour began, the two batsmen were competing for one spot. Dhawan had been relegated from first-choice to third-choice option after the West Indies series last year and then was dropped for the Australia series.
Mukund played in the Bangalore Test against Australia but scored only 16 runs in two innings, so this is another welcome chance for him to impress again.

Beyond the opening slots, the rest of the batting order -- from Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane -- picks itself.

If Kohli does pick five bowlers, there is no doubt he will go in with an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav. Even so, which two pacers will he opt for? In the first half of the home season, Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav were the preferred pairing, with Ishant Sharma benched and Bhuvneshwar Kumar made to wait.

The hosts have been set back with their own set of problems. They are still undergoing a tough transitional phase, with Graham Ford stepping down as coach and Nic Pothas asked to perform interim duties.

Squads: India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.

Sri Lanka: Rangana Herath (c), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep.

Match starts at: 10:am IST.

Live on: Sony Ten

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 7:55 [IST]
Other articles published on Aug 3, 2017