Bengaluru, March 11 (FN Agency) After clinching the first Test match by an innings and 222 runs in Mohali, Captain Rohit Sharma will be eyeing a clean sweep in the pink-ball match against Sri Lanka beginning on Saturday. India, which rode high on Ravindra Jadeja’s 175-run knock and nine-wicket haul in the last Test, will go into the match here with all odds in their favour. India have won both the day-night Tests at home, defeating Bangladesh and England inside three days. Axar Patel was wrecker-in-chief in the match against England in Ahmedabad in February 2021 where he ended up claiming 11 wickets in the match. Fortunately, Axar has been included in the Test squad for the second Test after recovering from a shin injury and a bout with Covid.
Whether Axar will get a chance in the playing XI is a million dollar question as pacer Mohammad Siraj could be used by Rohit to exploit night conditions where the ball swings a lot. The Gujarat boy has replaced Kuldeep Yadav in the squad. Whie Rohit’s men are too strong a unit for the Lankans, the top order batsmen need to take more responsibility. Though Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have been the cornerstone of India’s dominance in Test cricket over the last few years and also struck fear in the opposition on every surface, they have been far off from their best in pink-ball Tests. Bumrah and Shami have played two pink-ball Tests and share four wickets between them.
The spinners have been India’s chief wicket-takers in day-night Tests, but it remains to be seen whether Bumrah and Shami are able to put their record straight in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne has plenty to think about going into the match. Except half-centurions Pathum Nissanka and Niroshan Dickwella, none of the batsmen excelled in the Mohali Test. Sri Lanka may miss the pace of Lahiru Kumara. The fast bowler walked off with an injury in Mohali. Both teams would go with the same batting combinations, but would need more consistency from their batsmen. If Sri Lanka wants to square the Test series, the onus lies on experienced Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva and others to raise the bar. Their bowlers also need to step up to challenge a dominant Indian batsmen.
Sri Lanka have not yet won a Test on Indian soil and would like to put the record straight before they prepare for the next series. Full Squads India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Saurabh Kumar, Rishabh Pant, Srikar Bharat, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Jeffrey Vandersay, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne.