2nd Test: India look for series sweep against SL as Kuldeep stays in focus (Preview)

New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) India returned to winning ways in the World Test Championship with their victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test match at the Galle International Stadium on Wednesday. Just four days after their 165-run win, they will hit the ground running in Colombo for the second and final Test of their trip to the island nation, which begins on Sunday as focus remains on one of India’s star bowlers, Kuldeep Yadav.

The left-arm wrist spinner didn’t had a great time in the first Test as Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja tore through the Sri Lankan batting line-up.

Kuldeep managed to pick only one wicket across the two innings that he bowled after sending down 25 overs. The ideal control that Kuldeep produces was lacking in Galle, barring his opening spell in the first innings when he got the wicket of Kamindu Mendis.

Though he was brought in late in the second innings as others were doing the job, he didn’t find his usual lines and lengths, mostly through the first innings. This puts the focus on Kuldeep and the Indian think tank on whether they go with him or bring in someone like Saransh Jain, the off-spinner from Indore.

The Madhya Pradesh cricketer has had a decent record in First-class cricket, having taken 188 wickets in 54 matches. However, it looks less likely that Kuldeep will get dropped due to the sheer experience and quality he has.

In most areas, India would be happy with their performance in the opener. Devdutt Padikkal took the No.3 role like fish to water in the absence of the injured Sai Sudharsan, while KL Rahul got a decent-looking 82 in the first innings.

Rishabh Pant was at his best in the second innings with his stroke-filled knock of 66, giving the visitors the cushion and runs needed to give the hosts a 372-run target and look for a win.

Suthar was phenomenal across both innings. The drift, the dip, the turn that he produced across the two innings of his 4/76 and 6/55 showed he has the mettle to shine now and also in the future.

Ravindra Jadeja looked pretty good with his control with 3-57 and a 1-71 across the two innings, while Prasidh Krishna bowled a few superb spells in his three-wicket match outing.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had only glimpses of what could have been a pretty strong outing for them. They would be rueing the failures of their top-order batters across the two innings as the middle-order put up a fight both times.

Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva gave hope to the hosts with the bat, while Asitha Fernando, Keshara Nuwantha and Prabath Jayasuriya were good with the ball.

The second Test will offer a similarly spin-friendly surface, and both teams will have their work cut out to march towards a win. India will look for their first Test series sweep away from home since December 2022, when they beat Bangladesh 2-0. Crucial WTC points are on offer too as the two-time finalists look for a late push to the top two. All eyes will be on the 22 men as Colombo beckons.

When: Sunday, August 23, 10:00 AM IST

Where: Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo

Where to watch: The match will be shown live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD channel on TV. The live stream will be available on the Sony LIV app and website

Squads

India: Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, and Sarfaraz Khan.

Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis (vc), Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, and Dilshan Madushanka

–IANS

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