A Sri Lankan attack without Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga may not be easy meat believes Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"You can always have a hungry youngster with ability who might want to make the best of the opportunity. There have been so many occasions in Tests when a newcomer, coming in for a senior, has done well. We cannot go there assuming things will be easy."
He said the Indian batsmen now were more comfortable while facing Ajantha Mendis. "We have been playing him quite a lot. We know the line he bowls, and know much about his variations. We will try and do well against him. The last time we were here, we could not read all his deliveries. It will be an interesting face-off."
'Need to learn from mistakes'
Dhoni said the Indian team will have to pick itself up from the debacle in the first Test. "We need to learn from our mistakes. And we all know what mistakes we committed on the field."
Commenting on the pitch, Dhoni said, "There is a little grass on the pitch. The surface also looks a little dry. There should be more bounce for the bowlers here."
He said the selection of the eleven - whether the side retained two spinners or played three pacemen - depended on the game-plan after looking at the pitch on Monday.
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said he disagreed with people who said `a bowler has been sorted out.' He quipped, "They said Murali had been sorted out and he ended up with 800 wickets including eight in the final Test. It all about playing the next ball."
Options aplenty for Sri Lanka
Sangakara said while the side would miss Malinga's fire-power, it had speedy pacemen in Dilhara Fernando, Dammika Prasad and Nuwan Pradeep.
Dwelling on newcomer Pradeep, the Sri Lankan captain said, "He recently troubled batsmen in Australia, who have grown up on those wickets, with his pace and swing. He is a very exciting prospect."
The Sri Lankan captain also said coaches at the grassroot level brought cricketers with rare ability to the fore. "We have young cricketers in the smaller towns and villages who play plenty of tennis ball and rubber ball cricket. They have their own unique style, unique actions. They are brought to the attention of the Board here and then they are polished at the bigger academies, where their natural style is not changed."
About the Sri Lankan pursuit for the No. 1 ranking in Tests, he said, "If we play well, the rankings will take care of themselves."
