PHOTO: K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

READY, STEADY, GO: India needs to fire on all cylinders to rein in host Sri Lanka, which is having a terrific run against South Africa.

Bangalore: History and Sri Lanka's slow pitches will post a twin challenge for the 15-member Indian team, led by Rahul Dravid, which left for the Emerald Isle here on Thursday night. The team will compete in the Unitech Cup Tri-series commencing on August 14, with South Africa and host Sri Lanka being the other sides in the tournament.

The team management is well aware of India's poor returns from its earlier visits to Sri Lanka. For instance, last August, India suffered an 18-run defeat while chasing Sri Lanka's 281 in the Indian Oil Corporation Tri-series final. However, coach Greg Chappell and Dravid hope for a turnaround this time.

"Playing Sri Lanka there is tough and they are playing some good cricket against South Africa at the moment. We also know that we need to improve our record there. We are aiming to do well and make a positive start. The players are feeling good and are enthusiastic, coming in as they are from a break," Dravid said at a press conference prior to the team's departure.

Expectations

Dravid, however, cautioned against piling on expectations on an emerging team. "We are human beings and not machines, so you cannot expect the same level of output all the time. There are bound to be a few ups and downs," Dravid said when asked about the 4-1 debacle in the one-day series against the West Indies. "We have had a good build-up so far though we did have a blip against the West Indies. As far as the opposition and rival players go, we do have some specific plans for a few players, but more than that we will be happy if our general plans work well," added coach Greg Chappell.

Chappell also expressed satisfaction over Sachin Tendulkar's fitness. "Sachin is getting fitter and better. We did not push him in the fielding sessions here, but he is coming along well and it is a positive sign."

Meanwhile, Dravid remained tight-lipped over the probable opening combination. "Team combination and strategy are decided on the match day and not now. Also this is not a forum to discuss that. Yes I have had a good run as an opener, there is Sachin and Sehwag as well. Besides Dhoni too did well as an opener at Jamshedpur, scoring 96 against England last April. So we do have some options," Dravid said.

Dearth of all-rounders

The Indian skipper also said that the dearth of a genuine all-rounder is not an issue.

"I don't see it as a big issue. Players like Kapil Dev or Flintoff happen once in a while. But we do have players who have chipped in. Players like Irfan Pathan, Agarkar, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Raina and Dhoni have all chipped in and now we have also selected Dinesh Mongia. If we are not going to get players (like Kapil and Flintoff), then we see to it that the players that we have work hard on their additional skill-sets. That's the only way to go about it," Dravid said.

On this series being part of the World Cup build-up, Chappell said: "It is always important to make a winning start. The key is to make this team perform at its best in all conditions. All I can say is that this team has kept improving over the past few months."

Lessons learnt

On the lessons learnt from the West Indies tour, Chappell said: "We played on slow pitches there in the West Indies and pitches in Sri Lanka will be similar to that."

Dravid added: "We are aware of our problems in scoring runs in the middle overs against slow bowlers (in the West Indies), we are working on that. We have also had a re-look at the line and length that we bowled in the West Indies and have made some changes. I do agree that our record in terms of conceding wides and no-balls isn't good. Wides, well you got to understand that the margins are tight in the one-dayers but yes as far as no-balls go, it is something that can be controlled with effort. We are working on that."

The captain and coach refused to comment on the Champions Trophy probables' list and to specific queries on Sourav Ganguly. "The selection committee chairman Kiran (More) had explained everything in his briefing to the media on Wednesday and we have nothing to add to that. Right now we are focussing on the Sri Lankan tour," Dravid said.

The itinerary (all matches in Colombo): Aug. 14: Sri Lanka vs. South Africa (D/N); Aug. 16: Sri Lanka vs. India (D/N); Aug. 19: India vs. South Africa; Aug. 21: Sri Lanka vs. South Africa; Aug. 24: Sri Lanka vs. India, (D/N); Aug 26: India vs. South Africa, (D/N); Aug 29: final, Colombo (D/N).

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