STAGE SET FOR A RIVETING CONTEST IN GALLE BETWEEN SRI LANKA AND AUSTRALIA. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor)
Sri Lanka has every opportunity to dent Australia’s pride if they can topple the World Test Championship finalists in the upcoming two Test series beginning in Galle on January 29.
The home team has nothing to lose but conversley everything to gain from a series win at home to boost their confidence and belief that they are on an upward trend as all indications suggest. Mainly at home.
Australia on the other hand, need to send out a clear warning to their South African opponents in the final at Lords, that they are the real deal, apart from underpinning their status at the top.
It will definitely be a titanic contest of attrition from a team that boasts of Galle as its fortress against visiting teams, and an Australian outfit drilled with knowledge of prior failures, but prepared to turn tables on the hosts.
Known as a spin friendly track with low bounce and prodigious turn, Galle has also shown that there’s something in it for the men of pace and swing. The intriguing question is about the type of track that the curators will come up with as Sri Lanka’s pace attack at the moment is second to few.
Asitha and Vishwa Fernando spearheads a decent swing and pace attack with the added pace of Lahiru Kumara and Milan Rathnayake.
What is key though is the toss, that could swing the balance either way.
Winning the toss is halfway to ensuring success, similar to Sydney, where the wicket deteriorates to a batters nightmare as it progresses to day three onwards.
Sri Lanka have the arsenal with class spinners led by the experienced Prabath Jayasuriya backed by Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and All-rounder Kamindu Mendis.
Australia have learned from the past and have packed the squad with spin in Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, an injured Matthew Kuhnemann, part timer Travis Head and uncapped Cooper Connolly as a counter to try and bamboozle Sri Lanka’s batters.
Sri Lanka faltered here in their last disaster labelled by then skipper Allan Border as “The greatest heist since the Great train robbery”, in 1992, when Shane warned announced himself by destroying a game Sri Lanka seemed on course to win.
Warne, upto that stage, was a mediocre young leg spinner with an unflattering return of 1 for 335, but turned hero when he grabbed 3 wickets for 0 to stun a Sri Lanka side who were cruising at 2 for 127 then crashing to a 16- run defeat.
It was also Australia’s first win on the subcontinent on 23 years.
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There’s been little success thereafter for the Aussies on the subcontinent. But the preparation this time appears like they mean business judging by a build up in Dubai to get acclimatised and used to similar conditions before their arrival in Colombo.
Focus will also centre around stand in skipper Steve Smith who was left stranded on 9999 runs by India and it will most certainly bring up a fantastic milestone for one of Australia’s best in recent years unless Sri Lanka can perform a miracle of sorts.
Sri Lanka have named a strong contingent for the Tests which includes two debutantes. Lahiru Udara has been added to Sri Lanka’s squad as regular opener Pathum Nissanka struggles and appears unable ⁶to recover from a groin strain sustained against New Zealand in the last Test. The second debutante is Sonal Dinusha who has made several big scores in domestic cricket.
Both teams boast of strong batting line-ups with Australia boasting of better depth.
The spotlight will be on Australia’s formidable line-up including Khawaja, Head, Labuschagne, Carey, Smith and Konstas.
Sri Lanka will pin their hopes on veterans Dimuth Karunaratne who plays his 100th Test, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, exciting gun batter, Kamindu Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrema who are capable of giving Australia’s bowlers some headaches.
Kamindu Mendis who averages 74 from 17 Test innings is a star of the future being an extraordinary talent with his ambidextrous left and right arm spin bowling. He was named ICC emerging player of the year for 2024.
Australia’s plans on this tour will also be twofold, to build up a Test team for the future by including young prodigy Sam Konstas up the order as the form of a few such as 38- year- old Usman Kawaja, who had a reasonable series against India, continues under the microscope.
They will also get some one-day exposure in an extended two game series at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo following the second Test beginning on February 6.
The one-dayers will be on February 12 and 14.
