 India look to clinch second series win in Lanka
7th Aug 2008 17:03 IST
Agencies
The series-equalising win in Galle may have rejuvenated the Indian team but with senior batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly still out of form, the visitors have their task cut out when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Test starting in Colombo on Friday.
The two teams are tied 1-1 after Virender Sehwag's fireworks with the bat, including an unbeaten double hundred, and Harbhajan Singh's ten-wicket haul won India the Galle Test, wiping away the disappointment of the innings defeat in the first Test.
However, the big four of the Indian line-up Tendulkar, Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are yet to come good and the team desperately needs them to fire as it bids for its second Test series triumph in the island nation after the 1-0 win 1993.
Speculation is rife that India might drop Dinesh Karthik for his lapses behind the stumps and the poor form with the bat.
So it wouldn't be a surprise if Parthiv Patel, the left-hander who has the distinction of being Test cricket's youngest wicketkeeper at 17 years and 153 days, may get a chance to show his worth.
Touted as a spinning track, the Galle pitch was surprisingly assisting for seamers like Ishant Sharma.
Ishant and Zaheer Khan were able to generate quite a bit of pace and with the pitch here speculated to be friendly to both pace and spin, the duo could prove more than a handful for Mahela Jayawardene's men.
"Ishant is an exceptional bowler with his height he creates a bit of bounce on these kind of wickets. So that is something that India has," Jayawardene had acknowledged after the loss in the second Test.
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