Lanka looking for series clinching win

Chris DHAMBARAGE reporting from Galle

Sri Lanka will be looking for a series clinching victory while India are desperate to stage a comeback when the Second Cricket Test between the two Asian heavyweights starts at the Galle International Stadium today.

This will be the second test to be played at this picturesque venue after it was ravaged by the 2004 tsunami. The Stadium was reconstructed in three years time and England drew their Third Test against Sri Lanka in December last year.

However for the Indian team this will be a tough task as they will be battling on another wicket which is bound to provide plenty of assistance for the spinners.

Sri Lanka have already gained a huge psychological advantage after winning the opening Test by an innings and 239 runs inside four days at the SSC ground in Maitland Place last week.

The Indian batsmen will be up against another vicious turner according to the Galle Stadium curator Jayananda Warnaweera who has promised to give the Sri Lankan spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis all the home advantage they need to demolish the visiting line up.

In fact Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis playing in his maiden Test match caused heavy damage while sharing 19 wickets between them.

Muralitharan has always being outstanding at the Galle Stadium where he has captured 91 of his World record 746 wickets, from 12 test matches.

The champion off spinner is certain to make merry once again on his happy hunting ground along with his new spin partner Ajantha Mendis who made an impressive debut while claiming a matchbag of eight wickets.

Warnaweera a former Sri Lanka spinner however predicted the track would also assist the fast bowlers initially if they bowl with discipline. Sri Lanka have in fact added an extra fast bowler Dhammika Prasad into their squad but it is likely that they would field the same team that won the opening test.

Warnaweera also stressed the importance of winning the toss because the wicket could start spinning from the third day onwards. “The wicket will help the seamers initially. After the third day it will start spinning. If Sri Lanka bat first then India could face defeat,” he predicted.

This match will be of great significance for Sri Lanka who are determined to improve on their International Cricket Council (ICC) team rankings.

The Lankans are already one up in the series and a 3-0 series win will help them to climb up the ICC Points Table.

At present they are rated at number five with 103 points and a series whitewash will help them to knock off India from the third position (113). Sri Lanka have happy memories at the Galle Stadium as they have lost just one of their last nine test matches at this venue since July 2004 and their lone defeat was against Australia four years ago.

The teams:

Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardena (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Michael van Dort, Malinda Warnapura, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardena, Chaminda Vaas, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilina Thushara, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chamara Silva and Chamara Kapugedera.

India (from): Anil Kumble (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautham Gambhir, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ohja.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa).

TV umpire: Mark Benson (England) Match Referee: Alan Hurst (Australia).