Yet another India v Sri Lanka series is upon us. While the Indian team has racked up its frequent flyer miles with regular trips to Sri Lanka over the past few years, they start this series in an unfamiliar location. The stadium at Hambantota, a port town in southern Sri Lanka, was built for the World Cup and India haven’t played a game there yet.
The ground recently hosted a couple of Twenty20s during Pakistan’s tour and, if those matches are anything to go by, the bowlers should enjoy themselves. With Zaheer Khan back spearheading the attack, and Umesh Yadav providing the pace, India’s bowling looks in better shape than it did in their previous ODI series, the Asia Cup in Dhaka.
One of the questions India will have to address is whether to play Irfan Pathan as an allrounder at No. 7, or go in with a specialist batsman at that position. If they do pick a specialist batsman for that position, it will likely be Manoj Tiwary, who has spent plenty of time on the bench over the past few months. Dhoni hinted that they will pick Irfan for the first game. “He gives us the liberty of playing with five specialist bowlers,” he said. “We can play two spinners and three seamers because Irfan can also bat.”
One advantage India will have over the home side is that the team comes in with six weeks of rest, a rare luxury in recent years. On the other hand Sri Lanka, especially their IPL players, have been playing almost non-stop since their previous home season began last August. With the SLPL starting days after this series ends, and the World Twenty20 following soon after, Sri Lanka’s players have a while to go yet before they can think of a rest.
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