Flustered India to chop, change

8220;Remember this wicket has a bit of movement, seams a bit and there8217;s some bounce as well. You can drive on-the-rise...

8220;Remember this wicket has a bit of movement, seams a bit and there8217;s some bounce as well. You can drive on-the-rise or play square on a flat wicket, not here,8221; Gary Kirsten instructs Suresh Raina while giving him throw-downs. 8220;Don8217;t open the face of the bat, try and get into the line of the ball, and play close to your body,8221; the coach8217;s instructions never seem to end.

Kirsten, who rejoined the team the night before the first one-dayer to witness a mighty collapse the next morning, is on an overdrive, trying to change things with the focus on the under performing middle-order. After Raina, he moves to Yuvraj Singh and starts reeling off batting tips. 8220;When you drive, your bat tends to close in towards mid-on. Play with a straight bat,8221; he says.

Considering the large presence of players at the optional nets, it was clear that there is a sense of urgency in the Indian camp to come up with an improved performance in the second ODI.

The entire middle-order turned up and the players were seen tightening their defence against incoming deliveries, working on leaving good balls alone, and attempting to restrict themselves from playing too many fancy shots.

Along with the change in attitude, there might be changes in the line-up as well and chances that India will take a safety first approach and include a seventh batsman in the line-up.

In that case, Pragyan Ojha will, in all probability, make way for middle-order batsman S Badrinath.

The Tamil Nadu batsman8217;s comfort level against spin and his experience of having played Muttiah Muralitharan at nets during IPL are points in his favour.

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With his top-hand grip, Badrinath will provide balance to a batting order dominated by bottom-hand players.

And while the team management is wondering whether to push Irfan Pathan to the top of the order, chances are that Virat Kohli will get another shot as opener.

No worries for Lanka

Sri Lanka, meanwhile have no worries with their team combination. Their playing XI is well settled and the hosts have already announced that they will retain the same combination at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium.

Finally, the pitch comes into the equation once again. Both teams had misread it in the first one-dayer 8212; Mahendra Singh Dhoni opting to bat proved disastrous, while Mahela Jayawardene admitted he would have done the same. Interestingly, the pitch for the last match was double-paced and that made it tough to face the spinners.

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The track for the second one-dayer, however, provides a more level playing-field. The 56 per cent black-clay composition has ensured that the pitch will have bounce, but losing the toss might not be so bad because choosing what to do will always be a dilemma.

The stiff breeze, too, will have a big role to play since the low seating arrangement at the venue will allows considerable lateral movement.