Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka at Nagpur. I am Suvajit Mustafi, and will be providing you live updates from this contest. Are we set to witness another go-green affair?
Nagpur in the past has stirred controversy for its ‘diabolical’ nature (remember South Africa 2015?), but the grass on the surface may even compel Indians to drop one of their spinners. Imagine India playing a Test at home without Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja? The duo bowled a total of 10 overs at Kolkata, and if the track tells a similar story, India may well go in with a predominant pace attack.
Fans are not complaining. Be it seam-friendly or a dust-bowl, Sri Lanka were not expected to contest well against the No.1 Test side. However, they carried forward the confidence they gained at the UAE when they beat Pakistan 2-0 last month.
Sri Lanka managed a 122-run lead in the first innings but just managed to sneak away with a draw in the rain-marred Eden Test, thanks to the fading light and of course the blatant time-wasting tactics, which Niroshan Dickwella terms a ‘battle won’ against Virat Kohli and co.
Anyway, India have set higher standards and have bigger battles to win — the biggest being their reputation of being the No.1 Test side. A win will be the least expectation when they step on to the greens at Nagpur.
India will be without the in-form Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. There is a possibility of Vijay Shankar getting his maiden international cap, whereas the think-tank may also hand Ishant Sharma another opportunity in place of a spinner. If India look to play six specialist batsmen, Rohit Sharma too could get the nod.
Sri Lanka will hope to nurse their second-inning-woes. Suranga Lakmal will spearhead the attack on the green surface, but if they have to pull off an upset, the onus will lie on Rangana Herath. With Herath-mauler Dhawan out of the contest, Sri Lanka will look to bowl Herath more number of overs as compared to Kolkata.
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