An incredible turnaround at Galle! Sri Lanka came out of nowhere and won the Test by 63 runs, thanks to excellent counter-attacking innings by Dinesh Chandimal and tight bowling by Rangana Herath and Tharindu Kaushal to choke Indian batsmen.
That brings an important question for Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri to address ahead of the second Test. What should be the team’s composition?
Virat Kohli has frequently emphasised on going with a five-bowler strategy to keep pressure on opposition batsmen all the time and to take 20 wickets, so it will hardly be a doubt that he’ll persist with five bowlers again for second Test.
Two bowlers in question will be Harbhajan Singh and Varun Aron. Harbhajan Singh has been listless in first Test match in which he didn’t look threatening at all and seems to have lost his rhythm.
At one end, where Ashwin looked almost unplayable and took bulk of the wickets, Harbhajan Singh could manage only one wicket that shows how toothless his bowling was. Another bowler likely to make way is Varun Aron, who took two wickets in the match, but looked directionless throughout and couldn’t make any impact with his fast bowling.
Both these bowlers should be replaced with Bhuvenashwar Kumar and Umesh Yadvav respectively.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has good control over line and length and can prove handy with the bat as well. Umesh Yadav on other hand is slightly better than Varun Aaron as he has better control over his line and pace and has good Yorker for tailenders.
K L Rahul looked clueless against Sri Lankan spinners and didn’t make any impact as an opener. In fact his penchant for getting out early in the innings meant Rohit Sharma had to face the music at his new position, and he too looked tentative and short of confidence in his stay at the crease.
Although it’s a big debate whether Rohit Sharma indeed is the best option available at the moment over the reliable but currently out of favour Chesteshwar Pujara. Pujara even though lost his place due to indifferent form he showed in England and Australia, he is still the best bet at crucial no. three position.
He has a solid domestic record under his belt and is considered to be a good player of spin bowling. His role should be to counter Herath and Kaushal and try to unsettle them with his rock solid defence and strike rotation.
Although it will be a bit harsh on Rohit Sharma to be dropped for the second Test, his lack of application and patience is creating lot of pressure at other batsmen and should make way for Pujara.
Murali Vijay has been a prolific opener for India over last year and has been a guiding force at the top to drive the innings. He missed first Test due to an injury but is expected to be back for the second Test and take K L Rahul’s position.
There were reports that Dhawan had a sour hand and he played through it during second innings. It will be interesting to see how serious the injury is and whether he’ll be match fit for second Test. If he’s not available, then K L Rahul might keep his place, opening with Vijay.
India’s playing eleven for second Test should be: Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Saha, Ashwin, B Kumar, Mishra, I Sharma and Umesh Yadav.
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