With spin options in focus, India must resist pre-judging the SSC pitch in 2nd Test against Sri Lanka

The first Test in Galle was hardly an edge-of-the-seat thriller. But nothing came easy to India in their 165-run victory.

Devdutt Padikkal had to apply himself and build a long innings to ensure that India made the most of winning the toss. KL Rahul, playing Test cricket better than he ever has, was forced to grind. Manav Suthar ended up with 10 wickets, but it was not simply a case of darting the ball into the surface and hoping it would do the rest. Especially after the ball softened, he had to earn or buy his wickets. The seamers put in proper shifts, not in terms of workload but through short bursts of high intensity.

All of this was facilitated by a pitch that maintained a balanced tension between bat and ball. And, Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, believed that this was the way forward, starting with the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo.


“We really enjoyed it [conditions in Galle]. I thought it was a very good Test-match wicket. It had something for everyone. There was turn, batters could bat, even on day five, and there was something for the fast bowlers if you bent your back. We expect the same thing here as well,” said Gambhir.

“We want to work extremely hard, not only for a day or two but for five days to win a Test match, and that is exactly what we did in Galle. It was very pleasing for us. We did the right things right. Guys got in and made the big run, built partnerships, batted for four and a half sessions, put big runs on the board. That is the key in these conditions. If you bat first, you try and bat big so that you control the match from there. I’m not going to say that it was a perfect Test match, but that is how we want to see Test cricket going forward as well.”

One thing Gambhir would change, if it were in his power to do so, would be to end the scheduling of two-Test series.

“Ideally, I would want a threematch Test series,” Gambhir said, even though it was his team that had the lead.

“I’ve always believed that there should always be a possibility that a team losing the first Test match can come back and win the series. You can’t do that in a twoTest series - the most you can do is draw the series.”

But that’s not an issue that will be resolved this week, and not by the Indian coach. What he had to solve for was the composition of the attack, Kuldeep Yadav looked flat in Galle and did not have the confidence of Shubman Gill, the captain, who went to the wrist spinner much after Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja had already bowled.

Gambhir insisted that India would “pick the best bowling attack which will get us 20 wickets,” but all indications pointed to Kuldeep not featuring. Saransh Jain, the off-spinner, was most likely to make his debut, especially after Sri Lanka announced that Kamil Mishara, another lefthand batsman, was slotting into the eleven. In the short turnaround between Tests, Kuldeep did not bowl in either of India’s two practice sessions.

The other option for India is to pick an extra seamer in Gurnoor Brar, with the two left-arm orthodox spinners more than capable of bowling long spells. But, given the heat in Colombo, and the propensity of the SSC pitch, described as dry by Dhananjaya de Silva, to take appreciable turn as the game wore on, three spinners was India’s most likely approach. “You can score 1000 runs in Test cricket, but there is no guarantee you are going to win a Test match. But if you get 20 wickets, you have all the probability and possibility of winning the Test match,” Gambhir reiterated.

“We will try and take the best attack that can get you 20 wickets, whether you have got three leftarm spinners in it or an offie or three seamers - we will have all our options open.”

The thing India will have to be most open to is not pre-judging the playing surface. In Galle, for example, there was more in the pitch for the bowlers than the build-up suggested. At the SSC that could well be the case once more. The first innings will be crucial, and India should not stress too much over the toss. If anything, losing it could be a blessing in disguise if the quicks can make the most of the early conditions. Batting second is not a massive disadvantage, even if batting last will be truly challenging.