 India will face Sri Lanka in the first test match of the three test match
series at Ahmedabad. The game will begin on the 16th of November.
The Indians will go into the series having just lost a seven match ODI series
to Australia after they had gone into the series as favourites. This means that
they will, or at least should be hurting. As compared to that, Sri Lanka has
had a quiet one month or so, after their debacle in the Champions Trophy, when
they had won the first game to only lose the next two and crash out of the tournament.
Click for Live Score Card of India vs Sri LankaAt best of times, Ahemadabad has been known to have a wicket which keeps a
little low and spins a lot more than the rest of the country. However, if the
last test match that was played here against South Africa is anything to go
by, then one may be in for a surprise. The pitch was green and India
had crashed out in the first session of the test match itself.
It remains to be seen whether the curators will want to dish out another of
such wickets. For now though, with only three seam bowlers in the Indian squad,
it does look highly unlikely that the pitch would be much more sporting than
the green and swinging conditions of 2008. This will also mean that both the
sides will need to go into the playing eleven with two spinners each; India
could go in with Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra, whereas Sri Lanka will
be in with Muthiah Muralitharan and one out of Ajantha Mendis
and Rangana Herath.
Pragyan Ojha is in the squad as well, but with Yuvraj Singh expected
to make it to the playing eleven as a middle-order batsman, his bowling as a
left-arm orthodox will do the support role to the aforementioned pair of spinners.
As compared to that Herath has had an excellent couple of months in international
cricket, and could be expected to do a better job than Mendis, who seems to
have been read well by the Indians. The only reason why Mendis could get a nod
ahead of Herath is because the Indian test team of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid
have yet to get the better of him, and that means that he will continue to have
a stranglehold over them.
However, with the Lankans having not yet won a single test match in India,
it looks to be an interesting battle ahead!
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