da betcris： The first Test between Sri Lanka and India commences in Galle onTuesday with both sides anxious about the pitch and keen to reversedisconcerting trends: Sri Lanka have not won a Test series for 16months and India have not won a Test series
Charlie Austin13-Aug-2001The first Test between Sri Lanka and India commences in Galle onTuesday with both sides anxious about the pitch and keen to reversedisconcerting trends: Sri Lanka have not won a Test series for 16months and India have not won a Test series overseas since their lastvictory against Sri Lanka in August 1993.Sanath Jayasuriya ducked into a short ball in practice this morningand was cut behind the ear. He may need a stitch, but will be fine toplay tomorrow. He knows that both he as captain and Sri Lanka as ateam need to win against India after failing to win their last fourseries.He identified the Sri Lankan batsmen as the key to success: “Ourrecord has not been good in Test matches recently, but if the batsmenapply themselves and put runs on the board, like they did underpressure in the one-day series, then we have a very good chance.”On paper, Sri Lanka go into the three-Test series as favourites byvirtue of the fact that they start with a full-strength side. India,meanwhile, have lost four key players through injury SachinTendulkar (toe), VVS Laxman (knee), Anil Kumble (shoulder) and AshishNehra (groin).Sri Lanka will also be boosted by an enviable Test record in Galle,where they have won three of the five Test matches by an innings.Australia survived in 1999 because of the weather and the only timethey were defeated was by Pakistan last year.Traditionally, however, the pitch has favoured the spinners, who havetaken 80 per cent of the wickets to fall. In 1997 Sri Lanka evenopened the bowling with left arm spinner Niroshan Bandaratillake butthis time we can expect greater assistance for the fast bowlers.The Sri Lankan Board requested livelier pitches for this series andwhen the covers were pulled off the square this morning, they revealeda pitch with a distinctly greenish hue. The grass is long and the baseis harder than the normal Galle surface.Jayasuriya admitted that he had “never seen so much grass on a SriLankan wicket,” but he supports the rationale: “I think it is a goodthing that it will help us when we play abroad. We have beenpracticing on seaming wickets for the last two months and the playerscan now cope with that.”John Wright appeared concerned, saying: “It’s one of those situationsthat are a little hard to predict and it may depend on overheadconditions. Certainly it is a lot drier than it was yesterday. It’s aninteresting one, but at the end of the day it’s how well you play onit that counts.”Sourav Ganguly pointed out hopefully that “it might be a goodwicket” before adding: “We cannot be sure as to how it’s going toplay until we see a couple of balls on it tomorrow. There is a lot ofgrass, but there may not be much pace.”The Indian captain admitted: “It’s going to be a good challenge forthe batsmen and the seamers who need to maintain the correct length.”The last time the pitch was favourable to the seam bowlers Pakistanoverwhelmed Sri Lanka with a four pronged pace attack to win a three-Test series last year. So the Sri Lankan strategy is a high risk one,especially in the first match of a short tour, as it will be hard tocome back with just a two-day recovery periodIndeed, whilst the heavy grass covering may yet prove deceptive, thereis a fear that this pitch will offer too much lateral movement andwill make the result a lottery. Certainly the toss becomesinteresting. Traditionally, captains have batted first in Galle; thistime they may be wary of doing so.Don’t forget the twirly men though. The pitch may not crumble by theend of the second day, but Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singhwill still be quite a handful. In fact, both off spinners will beencouraged by the promise of some extra bounce and zip. Too often inthe past has the Galle pitch been so slow that the cricket has beenattritional. Harbhajan will be encouraged further by the possibilityof five left-handers in the top seven.Sri Lanka look to have the edge in the fast bowling department. Theattack is spearheaded by Chaminda Vaas, who bowled so impeccablyagainst England earlier this year, with Dilhara Fernando and RuchiraPerera, the fastest bowlers on show, to back him up.Ganguly announced today that they would also be playing three fastbowlers. Javagal Srinath will team with Zaheer Khan with the new balland Harvinder Singh and Venkatesh Prasad are competing for the thirdseamer’s slot.No one doubts that India do have a competent fast bowling attack, butthe pertinent question is whether they have the batsmen to countergood pace bowling on a sporting surface. Without Tendulkar and Laxman,the batting line-up looks thin and much will depend upon Rahul Dravidand Ganguly.The injuries have forced India to fiddle with their batting order.Sadagopan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das are nailed on certainties as theopeners. Dravid can be expected to move up the order, probably to theNo four position, with Ganguly likely to bat at No five. The wristyMohammad Kaif earns a welcome opportunity at No three and HemangBadani will bat at No six.Sri Lanka’s batting has been the source of conjecture throughout the week, but the management has finally settled on a top six of Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Hashan Tillakaratne and Russel Arnold.The point of conjecture is whether the number seven position should go to wicket keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana or fast bowling all rounder Suresh Perera. A final decision is only likely to be taken tomorrow.