Focus on Kuldeep with the weather promising persistent showers
ICC World Test Championship
Unbeaten in their past 11 games versus Sri Lanka, India will are eyeing a hat-trick of series wins in the neighboring country when they take the field at the SSC on Sunday. Devdutt Padikkal's majestic hundred and the quality of Manav Suthar floored their opponents rather tamely with India winning the Test match by 165 runs at Galle in their 600th Test outing. The visitors did not miss a single beat from the moment they won the toss, completely annihilating their hosts and breaking their confidence which would please the management. There are no new injury concerns for them who may go unchanged for this fixture.
It was a nightmarish start to the series for the hosts who were playing at their favorite venue. The poor form and another injury have forced changed to their 14-men squaf. Dinesh Chandimal was ruled out from the final clash due to a neck injury adding to their woes with the duo of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis already injured. Sri Lanka also needs to address their top-order struggles with the bat as they lost their top four wickets in only 38 overs combined across both the innings. Their spinners could not conjure the same magic which Suthar and Jadeja exhibited, making it a tough pill to swallow in their own backyard. Kamil Mishara has replaced Nishan Madushka and is expected to debut as an opener. They have also called Sahan Arachchige, however Pasindu Sooriyabandara who made an unfortunate first-ball duck on his debut in the second innings as a concussion substitute for Chandimal should keep his place.
Indian batters enjoying a fruitful World Test Championship cycle
The Indian Cricket Team started this World Test Championship with a run-fest in England last year, as five of their batters aggregated over 400 runs with six of them scoring hundreds. Captain Shubman Gill dominated the series with the total of 754 runs from 10 innings. Ravindra Jadeja registered 6 fifty-plus scores in the series having averaged 86. They continued the same form versus West Indies, scoring 448 and 518 in the first innings of both the Tests, thanks to five different batters reaching the three-figure score. The only dull moment came against South Africa on the turning wickets of Kolkata and Guwahati with the batters unable to handle Simon Harmer and Marco Jansen, who averaged 8.94 and 10.08 with the ball, respectively.
India has batted 19 times in this WTC edition, with the team total crossing 350 eleven times and the 400 mark on seven occasions. These figures exclude the score of 564 which they posted versus Afghanistan in a one-off test at New Chandigarh, which was not part of this WTC where captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul scored individual centuries. India averages 36.44 in this WTC, which is the highest for any participating country. If we include the top-seven batters, the average rises to 45.8 which is again the best of the lot. Five individuals for India fall in the top 11 run-scorers of this cycle. Captain Shubman Gill is in third position behind Joe Root and Harry Brook who have played five more games while KL Rahul is in fifth position. This average of 69.57 is the highest for Gill among batters who have played more than 6 innings.
The only weakness this group had showed was a lack of three-figure mark from their No.3. This was also rectified by Padikkal with a Player of the Match performance in the first Tests. As a team, they have aggregated 18 centuries in 10 games, five more than the next best i.e., England who have taken 14 Tests to complete 13 tons. India converted 42.85% of the 50+ scores into a three-figure-mark with eight different individuals scoring a century. The signs look healthy for their batting unit before entering a tough tour of New Zealand, which will be followed by five-match Border Gavaskar Trophy at home. The management will back their batting department to continue in the same vein of form which might be significant for their push towards a place in the WTC final next year at The Oval.
Sri Lanka's futile search for a second spinner
Sri Lankan cricket has always been dominated by spinners. Their top two wicket-takers in Test cricket have been the legendary spinners, Muttiah Muralidaran and Rangana Herath. The highest wicket-taker in world cricket across formats, Murali made his debut in 1992 with his career lasting for 18 years before announcing his retirement from Test cricket in 2010. The right arm off-break bowler took 800 wickets in 133 Tests, an achievement, no one can come close to. The left arm orthodox, Rangana Herath was given his maiden cap in 1999. The presence of Muralidaran never allowed him to break into the XI until he became a regular since 2008.
Herath, who is best left-arm spinner in terms of wickets, played 76.34% of his career matches after the retirement of Murali, taking 83.6% career wickets in the same time period. He was used as the only frontline spinner in pace-friendly conditions, but found support initially from Ajanta Mendis and later from Dilruwan Perera until 2018, when he retired. Herath finished his career as the highest wicket-taker among left-arm bowlers in the longest format, a record which was recently broken by Australian Mitchell Starc. It was the retirement of Heath, which triggered a long period of experimentation as the national selectors fail to identify a proper successor. The likes of Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama and even were Wanindu Hasaranga were auditioned or this role. Embuldeniya and Jayawickrama started on a positive note but long breaks between games and gradual loss of form, forced them to search elsewhere. It was only after Prabhat Jayasuriya immersed as their frontline choice in 2022 that Sri Lanka found a consistent and impactful solution.
The issues however, lie deeper than this. Playing in the subcontinental primarily, teams prefer playing 2-3 spin bowling options up their arsenal. The most successful sides in such conditions have often cracked a successful partnership. Kumble-Harbhajan, Ashwin-Jadeja for India, Taijul-Shakib-Mehidy Bangladesh, Swann-Panesar for England are a few examples. Sri Lanka has been searching for that second name to assist Jayasuriya and the search has not yet hit home. The most proficient player who has been given highest number of chances is the right arm off-spinner, Ramesh Mendis. Mendis possesses a champion record with both bat and ball in domestic cricket, but has found the promotion to International cricket, incredibly challenging. Even though he has taken 71 wickets at an average of 31.15 in 16 Tests, playing all of them in Asia, Mendis' lines and lengths have often been inconsistent playing in the best conditions that can be prepared for a spinner. He was part of the squad for the opening fixture but did not get a game and was subsequently dropped from the squad.
They have tried 6 spinners in the past four years, apart from Ramesh Mendis to partner Jayasuriya yet no one has been able to nail the spot so far. Part of the reason has also been the impatience shown by their selectors with these new talents. Sonal Dinusha's four matches has been the highest among these six players, which is also primarily due to his batting ability in the top 6. When Sri Lanka played their previous home series versus Bangladesh, they selected ambidextrous finger-spinner Tharindu Ratnayake who returned nine wickets at an average of 43.22, but they moved on quickly and gave a debut to Keshara Nuwantha in the last Test. Nuwantha struggled make an impact versus the skillful Indian side, giving away runs at an economy of 4.2 across both innings. This constant shopping and changing, makes it tough for any new name to perform given the pressure this role brings.
The island country is scheduled to play 7 Tests in the next few months, five of which will come in spin-friendly conditions. For a country which produces a plethora of finger spinners, it is very difficult to fathom as a cricket buff, why they have failed to produce some world class names in the format so far. The quality of cricket in their domestic structure is also not up to standard when compared with the top cricket nations. With a busy schedule ahead, it would be in the nation’s best interest if the selectors identify a couple of names from the domestic structure and give them a longer run to prove themselves. Dilum Sudeera, Wanuja Sahan and the experienced Akila Dhananjaya, were the top wicket-takers for their domestic teams in the First-Class competition this year. Sudeera and Sahan are also part of the Sri Lanka A set-up. They should also try to expand the role of Sonal Dinusha with the ball, who reamined under-utilized at Galle. As soon as Sri Lanka are able to solve this missing piece of puzzle, there troubles at the highest level might get resolved.
The buzz around Kuldeep Yadav's recent form
There is a lot of recent talks questioning the place of Kuldeep Yadav in India's playing XI. The sudden conversation has risen from the sudden emergence of Manav Suthar and his recent exploits, which have made people take notice. 17 wickets in his first two games, including a 10-wicket haul at Galle has made Suthar a lethal weapon for his national team. Kuldeep in the same two appearances has been comfortably outdone Sudhar and with the return of Jadeja plus a possible selection of Washington Sundar, once he returns from injury has left Kuldeep a bit vulnerable.
Kuldeep was also not at his best when compared to the South African spinners last November in home conditions, although the whole spin-bowling collectively underperformed in that series. Bowlers like Kuldeep come once in a while. A left-arm wrist spinner who flights the ball and bowls slower than the average speeds of many finger-spinners, Kuldeep has gone through many ups-and-downs in his International career. It’s surprising that a player of his caliber has been part of only 19 Test matches since making his debut versus Australia in 2017. The presence of Ravichandran Ashwin & Ravindra Jadeja combined with their batting prowess made them the primary pick in both home and conditions. Kuldeep is generally seen as more of a subcontinental spinner by India. It’s not like he has bowled poorly with Red ball, in fact he was the highest wicket-taker in the two-test series against West Indies, collecting 12 wickets at an average of 19.5.
Kuldeep Yadav has figures of 4-165 in the past two games with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
The abundance of talent that the whole country possesses in the spin-bowling department and the complexity of forming a playing XI across different circumstances, sometimes leaves a player under pressure following just a couple of average performances. Kuldeep has suffered from the same phenomenon in all formats recently. He hardly played for India in the T20 World Cup, selected only for the Pakistan fixture at Colombo. Varun Chakraborty was the preferred spinner and Axar Patel's all-around capability meant Kuldeep had to bide his time on the bench. He suffered a similar fate in the ODI format as well with the management, preferring the all-round options over his wicket-taking ability. In the past, Kuldeep has been affected by outside noise due to which his form took a nosedive. Still, given his quality and experience, it should not take long for him to bounce back. I’m sure Kuldeep still has a lot to offer as an International cricketer to all formats. Let’s hope he doesn’t pay attention to his critics and keeps his focus on helping India win a lot more trophies by collecting loads of wickets in the future.
Losses piling up for Sri Lanka against better ranked nations
Last time the hosts won an away Test series against a team other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe was eight years ago when they white-washed South Africa 2-0 in a historic victory this becoming the only Asian side to win a Test series in South Africa until now. Since then, they have lost nine of their 10 such away tours, winning only once in 18 attempts. Even at home, the situation is not much better. When England visited them five years ago, Sri Lanka suffered a whitewash and the same happened one year ago versus Australia as well. Their last series win versus Pakistan was in the UAE, 9 years ago whereas they haven't defeated the visitors since 2008.
Sri Lanka has failed to win a single Test match in both Australia & India in their history. These are shocking stats for a nation who made its debut in the five-day format, 45 years ago. For years, they have toiled to make an impact outside Asia but nowadays, they are also failing consistently at home. The only country which has kept them ahead in the ICC rankings has been Bangladesh, against whom they won all their WTC clashes having played in each cycle.
The hosts have already been facing injuries to three of their batting mainstays ahead of the final Test of the series, making India overwhelming favorites. Batters have failed to piece have together a strong match-winning show and even their spinners are not generating enough wickets, leaving them out of breath. Sri Lanka plays fewer Tests than all the other top-nine side which is a known fact and if the results don’t improve, it will be tough for them to push for opportunities with stronger nations. They are scheduled to play at home with Pakistan, hovering at the bottom and a dangerous South African side with five wins in their past 6 outings in Asia. They will make a visit to New Zealand early next year. The appointment of Gary Kirsten is seen as a huge catalyst for them to turn things around across formats. The management needs to improve their plans and the player need to go out with renewed confidence so they can prove their quality at the highest level. The next few months are going to be vital for Dhananjaya de Silva as a captain.
SSC under scanner as rain prepares to threaten the match
Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo is the second most prolific ground behind Galle in Sri Lanka, having hosted 46 Tests matches since 1984. However, in the past five years SSC has been awarded merely three games. The SSC offers a balanced pitch with batting generally getting easier following the conclusion of first innings. In the previous three matches, teams batting first have scored 247, 198 and 166 followed by totals of 458, 439 and 576 by the bowling team. Historically, sides have opted to bat first after winning the toss 31 in 46 attempts. The final outcome is skewed in favor of the losing side by 17-15. The ground has offered 14 draws, highest in Sri Lanka however, with the longest format getting more result-oriented, there have been no draw in the previous nine encounters.
Both the spinners and pacers have shared spoils having almost similar numbers at this venue. The slower bowlers have collected 714 wickets at an average of 34.16 while the fast-bowling stats read 623 wickets @ 36.35. Sri Lanka's Prabhat Jayasuriya has taken consecutive fifers in his former two appearances whereas Asitha Fernando averages 22.53 with 13 wickets three outing. During their last Test versus Bangladesh, they secured a comfortable victory by an innings and 78 runs. Nissanka scored 158 and was named Player of the Match while Chandimal and Kusal Mendies added 93 and 84 respectively. Sri Lanka are missing all these three players for this clash due to various injuries. Sonal Dinusha made his debut in that fixture.
India is expected to go with the same combination from Galle. The only potential change they can make is bringing in Saransh Jain for Kuldeep Yadav to add a right-arm spin bowling choice. Sri Lankan selectors announced multiple changes to their 14-men squad. Kamil Mishara is set to debut in place of Nishan Madhushka with Lahiru Udara as his opening partner. The substitute for Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara is expected to continue at No.3, although the management have another choice with Sahan Arachchige who has been in great form at the domestic level. They should also think about including Vishwa Fernando for Lahiru Kumara in my opinion. Vishwa's left-arm angle can created trouble for the Indian batting if he hits the mark from the beginning. The weather in Colombo is expected to be filled with rain on all five days. They will be hoping to wrap up their third consecutive Test series success in Sri Lanka while the host will be targeting their maiden victory versus the visitors since 2015. India is currently ranked fifth in the WTC table, one spot ahead of Sri Lanka.
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