The second test match between India and Sri Lanka will be played at the
Green Park in Kanpur. The first game at Ahmedabad ended in a draw as the two teams
failed to make any inroads on a pitch that was anything but bowling-friendly.
India will understand that the pitch could hold the key to their fortunes in
this game. In the first match, their bowlers did not get any assistance from
the wicket and hence they floundered rather badly. This time around, the game
is going to be played on a ground which has seen many a low-scoring thrilling
contests, and the last one played here between India and South Africa
was no different. India had finally won, but the wicket had come in for a lot
of criticism from everyone. So much so that it was said to have almost lost
its status as a test match hosting venue.
Click for Live Score Card of India vs Sri LankaThis time around, it is said that the pitch may not assist the spinners as
much as last time, but with the inherent nature of the wicket expected to be
of the slow and low variety, the slower bowlers could come into the picture.
It is the story of two opposing off-spinners, both of whom have not been in
the best of nicks - Muthiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh - and they
would be hoping for a turnaround here. Having said that, it wasn't as if Amit
Mishra bowled too well in the previous game, and he will need to come up with
a much better performance to live up to his reputation of being a worthwhile
successor.
For the Lankans, Ajantha Mendis was left cooling his heels in the dressing
room, but one gets the sense that he will play a part in the series, sooner
rather than later.
The batting was great for both the sides. The good thing about the game was
that all the Indian batsmen got going with at least one half century in the
game. Virender Sehwag looks to have gone into a trigger-happy mode, with
no tightness in his defence at the moment - something that he had worked on
earlier. He will need to play a little more to the merit of the ball, rather
than expecting every ball to be dispatched to the fence, whereas the likes of
Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni could expect a little more difficulty while
facing the spinners later.
Dhoni seems to have hurt his finger and may not play in the game, failing which,
Yuvraj Singh may lead the side, and Dinesh Karthik would be the wicket-keeper.
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