Those who have already had enough of seeing India and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 playing against each other in international cricket will have to turn away from their TV sets this weekend. The Indians will be touring the “emerald island” again, where they will play two tests against the Sri Lankans and then fight for supremacy in the Tri-Series, which also includes the Kiwis. The three test series begins on the 18th of July at Galle.
It will be followed by the second and the third test. The last time the Indians played a test in Sri Lanka was two years ago.The series was won by the Lankans 2-1. India hopes to turn the tables this time around. The Sri Lankans on the other hand would hope to make a mark in the first test and keep a good track record in their home country.
Indian team chosen
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750’s team for the test match has been chosen. With the return of Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped in the Asia Cup, he'll hope to make an impression on the minds of the selectors. The Indian team with the senior players back in tow, the team does look strong, especially with the three senior most players Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S Laxman.
The onus would be on the shoulders of these three players to guide India to victory in the test series. It would be interesting to see how players like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid and V.V.S Laxman play after such a long break. Also there is blend of young talents such as Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Mithun.
It would be interesting to see how these players cope under pressure. Wriddhiman Saha, who has already played a test match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623.
The man that everyone’s eyes would be set on is Singh, who was Indian cricket’s rising star, was suddenly dropped from the squad owing to bad performances. His batting is critical to the team’s performance, especially with the World Cup coming up next year, and also with India’s bowling having suffered a major setback after Zaheer Khan was ruled out of the test series due to an injured shoulder.
This comes in a rude shock for the Indians, as so much rested on him and his ability to see his side through. Sreesanth has been called back into the side after some good performances in the domestic season.Also the bowling includes the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ishant-Sharma-c64566 who again comes back after being dropped from the side, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh who would spearhead the bowling due to his experience.
The Sri Lankan side
The Sri Lankans on the other hand have some changes in their squad with the fast bowler Lasith Malinga returning to the side, after nearly two and a half years. Malinga had last played a test in 2007 before he was out due to a knee injury.
With Kumar Sangakkara captaining the side, the Lankan fans should be optimistic about their team. The squad includes Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Kandamby, Angelo Matthews and also debutant Lahiru Thirimanne who will be useful with his batting.
Sri Lanka’s batting looks strong with the likes of Jayawardene, Sangakkara the ever dependable pair, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Prasanna-Jayawardene-c82537 who has impressed many with his temperament, Angelo Matthews who has evolved over the past six months into a dependable batsman, and Thilan Samaraweera, who has an incredible record against the Indians.
Sri Lanka’s bowling is also been strong with many players from the domestic ranks have been able to perform well at the International level. Dilhara Fernando, Muralitharan who will really be a tricky customer to deal with in his own backyard and Suraj Randiv who has also shown a lot of potential with his off-breaks.
The most interesting facet of the Lankan bowling would be Malinga who has the ability to wreck havoc in the batting line-up. Also the exclusion of the “mystery Spinner” http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajantha-c42419 mendis would give the Indian Batsmen some breathing space as they had a torrid time when they last played against him two years ago.
Looking at both the teams the series looks to be a cracker, as both of them seem to be evenly matched.
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