Kolkata: Unseasonal rains are all set to play spoilsport to India’s domination over Sri Lanka in the first of the three-Test which starts here Thursday. Both teams were forced to stay indoors as heavy intermittent showers threw a question mark regarding the future of the game.
With the Met Office predicting heavy to very heavy showers in the next three days, there is every possibility of a delayed start. The Eden Gardens was completely covered during the day and except for the groundsmen not a single soul could be seen in the vicinity of the lush green surface. CAB officials have assured that if and when the rain stops, they can start make the field suitable for play within a couple of hours. The million dollar question, however, is whether the weather will give the cricketers and fans a breather.
India had inflicted on Sri Lanka, a humiliating 9-0 whitewash across three formats when they had toured Sri Lanka a couple of months back. However, the Sri Lankans achieved a turnaround of sorts with a 2-0 series win over Pakistan in a Test series at the UAE.
The Sri Lankans would certainly be desperate to straighten their Test record in India. They are yet to win a single game of the 17 Tests they have played here, losing 10 and drawing seven in the process. However, on paper, that looks a difficult proposition keeping in mind the momentum India are enjoying in all the formats of the game.
Individual and team milestones also will be at stake once the three-Test series gets underway. Ravichandran Ashwin who has 292 wickets from 52 Tests has the chance to become the quickest to the 300-wicket mark if he manages to pick up eight more in the three games. Australian pacer Dennis Lillee has been the quickest to reach 300 wickets – in 56 Tests while for India, Anil Kumble took 66 Tests to reach the figure. For pacer Umesh Yadav, the series is also important as he needs six more wickets to reach the 100-mark.
As far as team milestone is concerned India have won eight series on the trot during the period ranging from 2015 to 2017. One more victory will enable them to equal Australia (1884-1891) and England’s (2005-2008) record of nine series victories in a row. Hence there will be no let up from Team India.
Sri Lanka will have to bank on the experience of Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and the inform Dimuth Karunaratne in the batting department. And in bowling warhorse Rangana Herath will again be their main weapon.
If the match ultimately gets underway, India may play three pacers and if that happens, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is likely to partner Yadav and Mohammed Shami. As far as the return of Murali Vijay is concerned at the top of the order, he may have to wait a little. Indications are that India will continue with KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan. The rest of the squad more or less picks themselves.
Let fans decide on ‘overkill’ of cricket: Kohli
Indian skipper Virat Kohli asked Wednesday the fans to decide whether there has been an overkill of India-Sri Lanka contest in recent years, something that has led to dwindling interests in a cricket-crazy nation. The ticket sales for the opening game here have been very mediocre to say the least.
India played an away Test series against islanders in 2015 followed by a short limited overs series at home in 2016 and in the current year are playing them full series across formats on home and away basis. Not to forget, India will again travel to Sri Lanka in 2018 to play the Independence Cup T20 tournament.
Kohli gave a very diplomatic reply when asked whether the India-Sri Lanka battle has lost its sheen. “It definitely has to be taken into consideration because you don’t want fans going away from the game. We have to maintain a balance of how to engage fans and keep players fresh at the same time and keep cricket exciting and keep it competitive throughout the year. That point will be discussed in future definitely,” Kohli dropped enough hints as to what he felt on the issue during the pre-match conference. “It will be better answered by the fans who watch the game if they are being affected by repetition.”
Kohli also pointed out that in spite of the job at hand, he is looking ahead at the upcoming South Africa tour where they will have embrace the ‘uncomfortable’.
“We want to be uncomfortable, we want to embrace being uncomfortable and that’s the most important thing. We want to be good wherever we play, we don’t want conditions to affect our games,” he asserted.
Virat too needs rest
Batting for long in a manner that often seemed unreal, Virat Kohli said Wednesday that he too needs rest from the gruelling international schedule since he is ‘not a robot’. Kohli has played seven Tests, 26 ODIs and 10 T20 internationals in 2017, the most by any player in the Indian team. “Definitely I do need a rest. I will ask for it when I need rest. I’m not a robot, you can slice my skin and check if I still bleed,” Kohli told reporters.
SL bank on Mathews
Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal confirmed Wednesday that their seniormost batsman Angelo Mathews will bat at No.4 in the entire Test series. He also said that the side are relishing the prospect of playing on a green top at the Eden Gardens when play gets underway.
“He (Mathews) gives us confidence as a batting unit. He will bat at No.4. He has all the experience and we want to get the maximum out of him,” Chandimal stated.
Incidentally Mathews is yet to score a Test hundred since August 2015 and in that phase he has aggregated 917 runs in 32 innings at 28.65 with his overall average slipping to 44.93 from 52.06.
Playing their first Test in India since 2009, Sri Lanka will also eye a maiden win in the longer format as they have lost 10 matches and drawn the remaining six in the country.
“In our last series here, we played really good against their (India) seamers. We are confident about playing on grassy conditions and bouncy pitches. If we get a good start, I am confident we can handle the Indian pacers,” Chandimal asserted.
In spite of the thrashing they had received at the hands of India when the two sides last met in July-August, the Sri Lankan skipper is confident about a good show this time around.
“They (India) have been outstanding and we have learnt it the hard way. We now know how to approach the game and I am sure that in spite of playing at home, India will find us a tough nut to crack,” Chandimal signed off.