Pace spearhead Lasith Malinga will be back for Sri Lanka in the third Test of the Mircomax series beginning at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium on Tuesday.
Influential with his sling-arm action, reverse swing and skiddish bounce, Malinga should add much to the Sri Lankan attack as the host enters the match with a 1-0 lead. The fiery paceman appears to have recovered well from an inflammation on his knee.
Injury worries
India will once again be without opener Gautam Gambhir. The left-hander has still not regained complete fitness after missing the second Test due to a sore right knee. Harbhajan Singh is also a doubtful starter. According to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the senior off-spinner has a strained calf muscle. If Harbhajan is unable to play, India will go into the final Test with one of its most inexperienced attacks for the longer version of the game.
Significantly, maestro Sachin Tendulkar will make a historic 169th Test appearance in the match. The legendary batsman will overtake Australian great Steve Waugh's mark of 168 for the most capped cricketer in Tests. This will mark an extraordinary achievement for a cricketer who continues to break barriers.
Gambhir's absence means Murali Vijay will keep his place. The compact opener came up with a well-made 58 in the second Test, putting on 165 runs for the first wicket with the marauding Sehwag.
This is a promising pair of contrasts. Sehwag plunders the bowling while the straight-batted Vijay is an ideal foil. Yet, even if India puts runs on the board, the attack has to bowl Sri Lanka out twice in good time to complete a win. A side trailing 1-0 has to make significant inroads with the ball.
Better pitch
The pitch at the P. Sara ground should offer more to the pacemen in terms of seam movement and bounce. As the match progresses, the spinners are likely to get some purchase. This looks a very different track from the one for the second Test at the SSC.
Ideally, India will seek to bat first, survive the first session when the pacemen should be able to get the ball to zip around with minimal damage, and then apply pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen.
Will the bowlers put their hands up to be counted? Someone like seamer Munaf Patel could inflict some damage on this track. The underrated paceman can jag the ball around from an off-stump line.
If Harbhajan is fit then India would be well advised to go in with a 2-2 combination - two pacemen and two spinners. In that scenario, Munaf should team up with Abhimanyu Mithun while Harbhajan and leg-spinner Amit Mishra form the spin combination.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha does not seem ready yet for Test cricket and Mishra should be given his due.
Ishant has disappointed
Apart from the third morning of the first Test at Galle, Ishant has disappointed. His line has been awry and he has leaked runs. The zestful Mithun, with his indippers, has appeared more threatening.
And if Harbhajan fails to recover, then a 3-1 combination with Mishra as the lone spinner could be the answer. India then will possess a three-pronged pace attack with Ishant retaining his place.
In the last Test between the two sides here – the decider of the 2008 series – Sri Lanka was a runaway winner by eight wickets. That was a period when off-spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis formed a deadly combination. The retirement of Muralitharan, the decline of Mendis, and the absence of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) could work against the host.
With UDRS not implemented in this series, the Indian batsmen have been able to play the spinners a lot more off their front-foot without the danger of a leg-before appeal being referred.
Right-left combination
For Sri Lanka, left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegedara could be back in the eleven joining forces with Malinga. Dilhara Fernando bowled with heart and commitment on a placid track at the SSC but then a right-left new ball combination provides a different dimension to the attack. Paceman Dammika Prasad, who claimed five wickets in the home team's emphatic win over India in 2008, is also in the frame.
India will have to bat its way to an imposing total for the side to have any chance of levelling the series. India has strength in its line-up but the side will be aware of Malinga's threat with the older ball. The slinger can alter the course of a match in a matter of deliveries.
The side will seek big runs from Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, who have missed out on sizable scores so far. And the in-form Suresh Raina should retain his spot ahead of Yuvraj Singh.
The Sri Lankan batsmen have put a depleted Indian attack to the sword in the series. Tharanga Paranavitana, Tillekaratne Dilshan, skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are all in ominous form. The Indian attack has a mountain to climb.
The teams: (India) from: M.S. Dhoni (captain), V. Sehwag, M. Vijay, R. Dravid, S. Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, S. Raina, H. Singh, M. Patel,, A. Mithun, A. Mishra, I. Sharma, P. Ojha, Y. Singh, W. Saha.
Sri Lanka (from): K. Sangakkara (captain), T. Dilshan, T. Paranavitana, M. Jayawardene, T. Samaraweera, A. Matthews, P. Jayawardene, L. Malinga, A. Mendis, C. Welegedera, S. Randiv, N. Pradeep, R. Herath, T. Kandamby, D. Prasad, L. Thirimanne.
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