Opportunity for Sri Lanka to regain lost reputation 

Rex Clementine in Mohali 

Time was when Indian cricket feared their Sri Lankan counterparts like the plague. Sanath Jayasuriya throwing caution to wind going helter-skelter from ball one, Arjuna Ranatunga humbling Mohammad Azharudin with his tactical brilliance, Ajantha Mendis’ magic running through India’s formidable batting line-up, Roshan Mahanama setting the benchmark in fielding, those were the good old days. But right now, India has turned out to be a different beast having won back to back series in Australia and ending Aussies’ three decade unbeaten run at the Gabba.

This series is a bit of a downgrading for Sri Lankan cricket as since 1991 India had always hosted the islanders for three match series. This trip has been reduced to two games. Maybe that’s the motivation Sri Lanka need. Last time England did that in 2014, Sri Lanka recorded a stunning series win completing the victory in the penultimate ball of the game in Leeds.

Test match cricket is a funny game. That too in day-night Tests things can happen very fast. Sri Lanka’s best chance is in the pink ball Test which will be played in Bangalore next week. Friday’s opening Test poses different challenges. India is the stronger side on paper with Ravichandran Ashwin declared fit.  Despite the result of the T20 series, Sri Lanka are expected to compete better in the Test series with several experienced campaigners returning to the fold.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne had hit a purple patch last year scoring close to 1000 runs in Tests. Angelo Mathews remains the team’s best batsman having excelled in tough conditions. He also has scored two hundreds in his last three innings against India. One of them in fact came in Mohali.

Suranga Lakmal is on his way out and he would want to go on a high.

While Lakmal provides swing and control, the outright pace of Dushmantha Chameera has troubled the batsmen this tour. His workload, however, remains a concern.

Despite being placed in the bottom half of rankings, Sri Lanka have shown signs of improvement in Test match cricket recently. This series will be a good contest and the pressure will be on India as they are expected to win. India and Australia are the only places where Sri Lanka have not won a Test match.