SRI LANKA TOUR OF INDIA 2016 India aim to keep series alive

With spin expected to play a key role, India are likely to pick Pawan Negi in place of Hardik Pandya

The series has not started off well for hosts India. They were taken aback by the bounce and pace on the Pune pitch. Ranchi should offer them some respite althoughthere are some other concerns here as well.

This series is seen as one to fine-tune their World T20 squad and the first Twenty20 International did hardly enoughfor them togaugethe players. Dhonipicked on positives of the lower order getting some batting time but the conditions were largely alien to what is expected to bethe norm for the World T20 games. That said, Ranchi is set to offer starkly different conditions and thereby different tests for the players. For starters the drynessof the pitch could mean that India pick Pawan Negi for this game ahead of Hardik Pandya when the two sides meet on Friday (February 12). Despite being bowled out for just 101, there is unlikely to be any majorchange in the batting unit.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading his side on his home turf yet another time and there is bound to be plenty of support for the home team as is the case on mostgrounds. That said, the young Sri Lankan squad seemed unfazed by the odds stacked against them in this series and are in fact buoyed after a convincing victory in thefirst T20I. They will also be boosted by the addition of Tillakaratne Dilshan to the squad. Dilshan is likely to replace Niroshan Dickwella at the top of the order andif the practice sessions were any indicator, Dinesh Chandimal is set to don the gloves for this game. They could not have asked for a better addition while standing onthe verge of a series win.

For Sri Lanka, the series acts as an indicator to pick their World T20 squad and two names that stood out in the first game - pacer Kasun Rajitha and allrounder DasunShanaka - will no doubt be watched closely.

"It's very important that people in Sri Lanka know that there are back up players. When most of the seniors play in the last few years, we need back up players. It'sgood to see them do well," said Chamara Kapugedera. The Lankans are well on their way to create a major upset if they do manage to upstage India one more time.

For India, the one-tone batting from the group stood out like a sore thumb. When faced with slightly challenging conditions, their batting failed to adapt and perhapsmissed the solidity of Virat Kohli. Ravi Shastri, the team director, said the team needs to learn quickly. "What we have to learn is - very early you have to make sure what the conditionsare, what the pitch entails and what is a competitive score on that pitch," he said.

And adapting to the challenges that are thrown up can only be countered by makingthe necessary back-end changes. "We are game to play horses for courses. We have always done that and if the pitch demands that, we'll do exactly what you said. If youthink its going to turn, we have resources. That is the idea of this team, to have resources for all conditions," he pointed out.

On one hand, it is good for both teams that they are getting tested in varied conditions. It offers them a chance to test the depth of their squad in all aspects. TheRanchi game, as it seems now, will be a chance to test the spin strength more than pace.

There is a lot of pride at stake as well, particularly for India, the World No. 2 in the T20I rankings. A series loss to Sri Lanka just a month prior to the World T20and on home soil will be a big dent to their pride. Consequently, it will be a big boost for Sri Lanka and will probably aid in ticking all their empty boxes when thesquad is picked.

The pressure is squarely on India at this stage. The JSCA stadium has fairly long boundaries as well but if the pitch starts to play tricks, can the batsmen adapt? It is a question that will have to be answered by the batsmen. Grafting is not an option given the concise nature of the format but will India be able to gauge the situation early and play smart instead of going on an all-out attack? This will be answered in due course but that is bound to be the primary area of focus for the batsmen. A series is at stake and the answers to who and how will have to be found out soon.

Squads (from):

India:Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra,Jasprit Bumrah, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pawan Negi.

Sri Lanka:Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Seekkuge Prasanna, Milinda Siriwardana, Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Asela Gunaratne, ChamaraKapugedera, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilhara Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Shaminda Eranga, Sachithra Senanayake, Jeffrey Vandersay, Niroshan Dickwella.