Thursday, July 31, 2008

Another ‘spin’ test for India

Galle: The Indians are likely to retain the same side, that got thrashed at the SSC, for the second Test beginning on Thursday.

The Indians will have to quickly find a solution to counter the twin threat posed by Muttiah Muralidharan and Ajantha Mendis.

Agencies add: Still licking the wounds of their humiliating defeat in the first Test in Colombo, the Indians got little time to regroup and work out a definite strategy to deal with the wily Muralidharan and Mendis.

Apart from the poor batting display, the Indian bowling and fielding also left much to be desired in Colombo, and it will need a vastly-improved performance from Anil Kumble and his men to keep themselves afloat in the three-match series.

The pressure, no doubt, will be on the batsmen who surrendered meekly to the spinners in the last game, which was quite surprising considering their experience and reputation of playing spin bowling.

For a batting line-up which boasts of seasoned batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S Laxman and Virender Sehwag, the collective failure in Colombo should serve as a big blow. It will be a real test of character for these top batsmen.

The Indians have also been toying with the idea of bringing in left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha at the expense of a batsman to strengthen the spin department.

Read more,
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080731/jsp/sports/story_9625953.jsp

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