Transition is the buzzword as the first Test between India and Sri Lanka begins at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium here on Friday.
It will be Rohit Sharma’s first as Test captain, a role he was handed after Virat Kohli stepped down in dramatic fashion following the series loss to South Africa in January. And, for the first time in over a decade, neither Cheteshwar Pujara nor Ajinkya Rahane will be a part of the eleven.
Main point of discussion
The opening up of two places will make India’s batting the main point of discussion. Even as Kohli, set to play his 100th Test, continues to be the fulcrum, the batting as a whole has come up short in recent times, albeit against some of the world’s best bowling attacks.
Starting from the 2020-21 tour of Australia, India has crossed 400 just once in 18 Test matches — in the second innings against England at the Oval. Admittedly, India has had considerable success during this period, with a world-class bowling attack ensuring that 300-plus totals were adequate.
But in five of the six losses, including the two in South Africa which cost the series, India didn’t cross 300, putting immense pressure on the bowlers.
It remains to be seen who among Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari make the cut. Shreyas averages 52.10 from 56 First Class matches, predominantly playing at No.3. On his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur last November, he scored a hundred and a half-century batting at No. 5.
The 27-year-old is also coming off a player-of-the-series performance against Sri Lanka in the T20I series (unbeaten half-centuries in all three matches). Skill-sets may not be transferable, but confidence certainly is.
Gill has played 18 of his 19 Test innings as an opener, but is seen as a natural middle-order bat. Vihari, whenever given the chance, has acquainted himself well.
The bowling though looks loaded, with the pace department, led by vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, best-placed to exploit the cooler mornings in these parts.
Typically Indian pitch
Rohit, in the pre-match briefing, called the wicket “a typical Indian pitch” and said it would take turn, but without hazarding a guess on when it would start doing so. Regardless, the fit-again spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin is sure to make Sri Lanka’s job incredibly difficult.
That the visitors have never won a Test in India is an unpleasant fact. The team, on paper, isn’t a patch on great Lankan teams of the past. But the squad does possess seasoned campaigners like Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal who have done well against India. Mathews even has an ODI century in Mohali from 2017.
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, set for his 75th Test, will have to shoulder responsibility by continuing his 2021 form of more than 900 Test runs. Wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella is back after serving a ban for a bio-bubble breach last year.
India would do well to keep a beady eye on left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya. Impressive at home and most recently against the West Indies when he picked two five-wicket hauls in two Tests, Embuldeniya may relish the spin-friendly conditions and right-hander heavy Indian line-up.
The teams (from): India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Jasprit Bumrah (Vice-capt.), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, K.S. Bharath, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Saurabh Kumar.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (Capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva (Vice-capt.), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrema and Lasith Embuldeniya.
Umpires: Nitin Menon & Virender Sharma; TV Umpire: Arpita Choudhary; Match referee: Javagal Srinath.
Match starts at 9.30 a.m.
