The Seagram’s Royal Stag Mega Cricket Cup India v/s Sri Lanka Test Series has begun. And even if you try your level best, you just cannot ignore the rivalry both India & Sri Lanka share. So much so, that none of us can even think of taking the ongoing Test series lightly, after all, the last time India toured Sri Lanka, they won the series after twenty-two long years of trying. To be fair, there’s always enough tension brewing between both the sides, that make each of their games a must watch for any cricket fan. This series looks no different.
Here are a few more reasons why the India v/s Sri Lanka series is on the verge of becoming a cracker of a series.
It’s going to be a showdown of three of the best spinners in the world.
When one thinks of Sri Lanka, one thinks about the great players that have worn the famous jersey. The likes of Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya and the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan. But that’s the past, the game is now being played by completely different players. Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath and Indian spinners R. Ashwin and R. Jadeja will have their hands full while dealing with the batting line-up of the two teams. This series basically puts the top three spin bowlers in the world in a direct showdown against each other. It’ll be interesting to see who takes the most wickets in the entire series.
Because who doesn’t love the purest form of the game.
Over the past few months, cricket fans all over the world and in our own country have been subject lots of high flying T20 & One-Day International action. The Sri Lanka v/s India series will begin with them playing three Tests in the subcontinent. And for cricket enthusiasts, Test cricket is as good as it gets. While Sri Lanka has been quite strong at home for years, it would be exciting to see how both teams perform, especially since India won the series the last time they toured.
Both the teams are in a state of flux and have a great mix of youngsters and experienced players.
Both the teams have a good mix of young players who are raring to have a go and make most of their chance. At the same time, both the teams also have experienced batsmen and bowlers who know the tricks of the trade and have the know-how to create winning situations out of nothing. While players like K.L. Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav & Hardik Pandya will be looking to cement their place in the team, more experienced players like Virat Kohli and R. Ashwin will be looking to provide the much-needed stability. Even the Lankan side boasts a great mix of talent; players like Niroshan Dickwella & Kusal Mendis will be firing on all cylinders and helping them would be players like Angelo Matthews & the ever-dependable Rangana Herath.
Ravi Shastri will make his debut as the team coach.
Forget what was written in the papers, forget the controversy, it’s showtime now. And this means that Team India’s new coach, Ravi Shastri will be in action for the very first time. Although he has worked as a team director in the past, becoming the coach is a different thing altogether. His decision to replace Zaheer Khan as bowling coach will be heavily scrutinised as well and everyone will be looking forward to seeing what he has to offer to this Indian cricket team.
One can expect each match to be a cracker of a game because Sri Lankan pitches are quite unpredictable.
While the pitch at Galle favours the spinners, no one can guess what the other pitches might have in store for both the teams. But one of the factors that swing things in India’s favour is the fact that their pace attack has improved as well. All four pacers, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami & Bhuvneshwar Kumar have one thing in common which makes them deadly. And that’s ability to reverse swing the ball, which is a great asset while touring in the subcontinent.
Virat Kohli joined an elite list of captains that have won a Test series at Sri Lanka in 2015.
And he delivered a Test series victory in style. Despite losing the first match, India took the fight to Sri Lanka in the second and the third Test and ended up winning the Test series, 2-1. Virat joined Azharuddin as the only Indian captain to win a Test series in Sri Lanka.
It took team India twenty-two years to finally win a Test series against the Lankans on their home soil.
Since 1985, India has played 21 Tests in Sri Lanka, won six, lost seven and have drawn eight matches. It was in 2015 when the last time India visited the subcontinent that they emerged victorious.
Because the number one Test team in the world has been in tremendous form.
Winning twelve out of seventeen Tests and losing only once is no joke and this Indian team has managed to do that. It’s honestly the strength in depth that makes it possible for them to create winning situations out of nothing at all. The opening batsmen have the ability to lay a solid foundation for the middle order batsmen and even the bowlers get support from the spinners and vice-versa.
With both the teams vying for the ultimate prize, it’ll be interesting to see that who will #MakeItLarge.
