The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Fielding and running between wickets will be the key

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Fielding and running between wickets will be the key

There are reasons aplenty for Sri Lanka to avenge last summer’s loss, writes Ravi Shastri

— Photo: AFP

LOOKING FORWARD: A big score seems to be just around the corner for Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, who love to display their skills against the Indians.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will take heart from a historic triumph in Sri Lanka last summer. Two issues though should keep him on his toes. One, the margin of wins were no better than three wickets, 33 and 46 runs; Two, he called correctly in all the matches that Indian won. His admission that the tosses would be critical underlines his concern.

Dhoni saw for himself how the ball swung prodigiously under lights in Colombo, the capital, where all the three day-night matches are scheduled this time around. I remember in one of the games, the trio of Indian medium-pacers — Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar — claimed eight wickets between them.

Home record

Sri Lanka’s home record is of similar concern — 95 wins out of 149 matches played at home with just 41 losses. Clearly, Sri Lanka don’t give in easily in familiar conditions. And there are reasons aplenty for them to avenge the loss of last summer.

Sri Lanka will have a few other added advantages. Their batting has just started to hit strides in recent days. Their score twice hovered around the 300-run mark against Pakistan’s impressive bowling line-up recently.

A big score just seems round the corner for Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, the two lefties who love showing their wares against the Indians. If Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis were not trouble enough, the two young new ball bowlers, Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara, have forged a fine partnership between them.

Key factors

Invariably, one sees fielding and running between the wickets become key factors in Sri Lanka. The hosts are a unit to reckon with on these issues. Indians are not bad either and I have this nagging suspicion that this could be the clinching factors in matches likely to be close affairs.

The Indians look better with the bat than the hosts but this could be deceptive. It would be a challenge for the likes of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh to force the pace in difficult conditions and against a top-notch attack. How they work singles around the field could be critical. Openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag are excellent in this area, as is Dhoni, but the others would be keenly watched.

In many ways, this is a season of reckoning for India. While South Africa have stolen a march over Australia and are on their way to be the No. 1 side, India have it in them to upset South Africa’s applecart. The challenge begins in earnest from Wednesday. A world is waiting to be won over.

Twenty First Century Media

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