Lankans looking to improve on home record:
Murali out of First Test
Chris DHAMBARAGE reporting from Galle
Sri Lanka will be looking to improve on their home record against
Pakistan when the two teams clash in a gruelling three Test series
commencing at the Galle International Stadium from today.
Pakistan unlike other visiting teams has been able to overcome Sri
Lankas territorial advantage ever since the inaugural home series was
staged in 1985/86. Incidentally Sri Lanka notched up their solitary win
against Pakistan at home in that series and are searching for their
first ever series triumph.
This series of course will be of great significance and will be
filled with a lot of emotions as the two teams have built up a friendly
rivalry in the recent past. Above all the horror incidents in Lahore
will certainly run in the minds of many players who have fought bravely
both physically and mentally to survive that trauma.
The two teams then carried on the fight into the shortest version of
the game where Pakistan won the battle during the second edition of the
International Cricket Council Twenty20 World Cup in England.
Less than two weekly from that final in Lord, Sri Lanka and Pakistan
will resume their battle in the more established game hoping to draw
inspiration from their earlier performances.
Sri Lanka will start the series slightly ahead of their opponents in
the ICC Test Rankings but the fact is that Pakistan have played few
number of Test matches during the last couple of years. In fact Pakistan
has been starved of international cricket and this will be a great
opportunity for them to consolidate their position.
Even then the Sri Lankan team has run into crisis even before the
start of the match with champion off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan ruled
out for the opening to games with a damaged ligament.
The absence of Muralitharan will be a tremendous blow for the home
side which has always rallied around through the ace spinner to exploite
the home conditions.
In fact Muralitharan has had a fabulous record at the Galle
International Stadium and needs just four more scalps to complete one
hundred wickets.
Chairman National Cricket Selectors and former Sri Lanka opening
bowler Ashantha de Mel said that they have brought in both Hewa
Kaluhalamulla and Rangana Herath as replacements for the injured
Muralitharan.
Uncapped off spinner Hewa Kaluhalamulla in fact completed a superb
four wicket haul for the Sri Lanka Cricket XI against Pakistan during
their three day warm up fixture which ended in a draw at the Colts
Cricket Club ground in Havelock Park on Wednesday.
His four victims were all key players in the Pakistan line up
including that of opener Salman Butt, Misbah ul Haq, Faisal Iqbal and
wicket keeper batsman Kamran Akmal. In fact Pakistan will be quite
concerned about their batting which is considered as their strong point.
Although they went pass the 400 run mark in that practice game there
were few more shortcoming as the bulk of the runs came from the two
openers and all rounder Fawad Alam.
The biggest disappointment was the repeated failure of their star
batsman Mohamed Yousuf who made scores of 14 and 6 in that fixture.
Sri Lanka will go into this test with a completely new look seam
attack with the non inclusion of veteran Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara
Fernando, Lasith Malinga and Farveez Maharoof. Instead they are most
likely to give promising fast bowler Angelo Mathews his first Test cap
who with Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Kulasekera and Dhammika Prasad set to
join the line up.
The injury of regular wicket keeper Prasanna Jayawardea has also
caused severe headaches to skipper Kumar Sangakkara who will be leading
the side for the first time in a Test series after taking over the
reigns from Mahela Jayawardena.
Promising wicket keeper batsman Kaushal Silva is in line for a Test
debut following a pleasing performance for the Sri Lanka Cricket XI
during the three day warm up match against the visitors.
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