Batting class hands India advantage

What it does mean, however, is that there will be more emphasis on form and ability in today’s top clash in Pool B. Sri Lanka have had the advantage of playing two hard Tests against Australia in the North End tour and the switch to limited-overs mood has gone fairly smoothly.

India looked fresh but needing a game to at least find some of their form in the middle. They battled on a pitch of irregular bounce and while Sourav Ganguly expressed some worry about ‘‘areas where we need improvement’’, it was a classic start to the new season, displaying the need to climb the ICC’s limited-overs ladder to displace South Africa and then move in on Australia.

There are a couple of interesting challenges looming in the game with Pathan and Balaji capable of testing the Sri Lanka top order. The two bowlers are fairly new additions to the India attack and the swing they have managed to generate in the breezy conditions will test Sanath Jayasuriya as well as skipper Marvan Atapattu’s patience.

If Irfan can unstitch the top batsmen of Pakistan and UAE as easily as ripping off a zip can top, the hosts are going to struggle against his pace and swing. He has been called a sensational bowler; it is so easy to understand why he commands such respect with 27 wickets — the most by a limited overs bowler so far this year.

The other battle will be that of the slingshot bowler Lasith Malinga and India’s opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Batting under lights at this venue is not easy as the ball dips around and on both occasions, UAE, batting second were in early trouble against India and then Sri Lanka.

In India’s favour is that at least they have batsmen who have experienced the conditions and have a good idea what to expect. No doubt, too, they had a good look at Malinga’s action and listened to coach John Wright’s idea of how to combat the slingshot style not seen since the days of Jeff Thomson in the 1970s. And as it is batsmen who win the limited-overs form of the game, India should end up unbeaten.