The ploy of sending Rahane at 3 hasn’t worked and India are now in serious trouble.
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The Indians have already had an experience of what it is like to see a legend sign off. Virat Kohli was among those that watched from close quarters as Sachin Tendulkar bid adieu in November 2013 at the Wankhede, leaving everyone teary-eyed and with lumps in their throats after a moving speech at the conclusion of a straightforward home victory.
Sri Lanka has a habit of winning the first Test of a series which is always played at Galle and then conceding the next Test and sometimes the series in the latter matches.
In the absence of an official head coach, the Indian cricket team’s director, Ravi Shastri, has a great opportunity to mould the team.
Skipper Angelo Mathews said the best way to send off the retiring Kumar Sangakkara is by winning the game and with it the series. The change was necessitated because once again India’s lower-order crumbled -especially on the fourth and final day -when it was put under pressure. He was extremely proud and understanding of Sri Lankan cricket, very clear about the legacy he wanted to leave.
However Pradeep’s injury will make way for the return of another fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera.
Can the team bounce back?
The Indian skipper also showed intent of fielding all-rounder Stuart Binny, who was added to the squad recently. In all likelihood, he will take the new ball because he is essentially a swing bowler who can be a decent wicket-taking option if there is help from the atmosphere, which the moisture in the air in this island nation invariably provides.
Sangakkara is the ultimate batting machine who flourished by eliminating faults from his game.
“We have got Stuart Binny because his bowling gives us balance”. There will certainly be one forced change though.
Murali Vijay, nursing a hamstring injury, is expected to be fully fit for the second Test as he batted for a long while in the nets.
The left-armer found a great deal of assistance from the pitch and will likely look for more in this Test in Colombo for further impact. The previous afternoon – in a World Cup final now remembered for Adam Gilchrist’s squash-ball-in-glove heroics, floodlight failures and farcical organisation – Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya had, for just over one quixotic hour, made the impossible seem plausible. Yes, you read that right. When we played him in a Test for the first time, I knew this guy was going to be around for a while. A few days later, he opened his Test account against the Proteas after being picked as a wicket-keeper batsman for the first Test against South Africa in Galle. If he wants to play and is keen, I’m sure he can go through the little discomforts he might have. Not as feted as Tendulkar, not as easy on the eye as Lara, and not as feisty as Ponting, he was nevertheless more consistent than any other batsman of his era.
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Having won the curtain-raiser match of the current series against India at Galle, the second Test starting at the P Sara Oval on Thursday is one game the Lankans can not afford to lose. Binny’s first-class bowling average -31.71 -is modest at best but the Karnataka “all-rounder” will be a better bet with the bat coming in at No. 6.
