The stage is perfectly set for him in Bangalore, a city he is now tied to thanks to the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with a full house expected at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on the first two days. Bangalore has been starved of international cricket, and its fans even of sightings of their stars with no Indian Premier League matches happening at the venue for the last two years.
The last time India played here was in 2018, against Afghanistan, and despite being a red-ball day game, the match ended inside two days.
On match eve, the hope was that this Test would go longer, that Sri Lanka would show more fight than they had in the first Test at Mohali. Sri Lanka batted 65 overs in their first innings and lasted 60 when asked to follow on.
There was little in that Mohali pitch to cause this and while India’s bowlers were good, there was no real reason for the entire Sri Lankan team to make just about what Ravindra Jadeja did, coming in at No. 7.
Sri Lanka’s Injury Problem
But, Sri Lanka’s hopes took a hit when Pathum Nissanka, who top-scored with 61 in the first innings of the first Test, was ruled out by a back injury.
In his place comes Kusal Mendis, who brings a bit of experience to the batting lineup.
To further add to their problems, Dushmantha Chameera, who was rested for the first Test specifically to have him fit for the pink-ball game, was also stood down.
Sri Lanka’s second forced change was the inclusion of left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama for Lahiru Kumara, who limped off in the first Test with a hamstring injury.
Sri Lanka Cricket has decided that Chameera’s workload needed to be managed, and with a view on the T20 World Cup scheduled for October, he will only play in white-ball cricket till then.
India’s Combination
The Bangalore pitch, traditionally good for batting, looked non-threatening with a day to go. There was little, if any, grass on a brown looking surface, and this left India with something to think about.
Axar Patel, who was added to the squad for the second Test, was front-runner to take the place of Jayant Yadav, who was hardly required in the first Test. Across two innings Jayant bowled just 17 overs and was the only Indian bowler not to pick up a single wicket.
India also have the option of playing Mohammad Siraj in place of Jayant, in case they believed that a third quick bowler would be required under lights.
The addition of Axar to the squad raised the possibility that Ravindra Jadeja, who had the game of his life in Mohali, may be struggling with a niggle. But, in the two days that team had to practice in Bangalore, Jadeja was present. In the optional session the day before the game, he had a generous stint with the bat in the nets.
“We are playing the Pink Ball Test after a long time. There will be a few mental adjustments that we have to make,” said Jasprit Bumrah. “It is not natural to catch with the pink ball for us. We are still new to this format.”
Sri Lanka will be hoping against hope that this unfamiliarity with the format will cause India to slip up.
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