India should play with extra fast bowler, say former players

“Ishant (Sharma) and Zaheer (Khan) struck early blows but did not have a back up bowler to support them. We had to fall back on spinners early and the Lankan batsmen capitalised,” Lal told PTI.

“The team will have to take a bold decision and go for a more balanced team instead by playing in an extra fast bowler instead of playing safe by having an extra batsman,” he added.

“We have a very good team but they will have to perform.” Former India batsman Chetan Chauhan said India might be poor beginners but were sure to bounce back.

“The Indian cricket team tends to start poorly in the first Test of any away series. But they have always made a comeback in the series, be it in England or Australia,” he said.

“During the first Test, the batsmen got over-awed by the huge Sri Lankan first innings total and perished to average shots. But these are good players with tremendous exposure and experience, who have made runs in all conditions. They will learn from their mistakes and come back with determination,” Chauhan said.

“Every player needs to play to their potential be it the bowlers or the batsmen. The batsmen in particular should play forward to Mendis, instead of playing back and use their feet well. They should stick around, show patience and more importantly value their wicket,” he said.

Former spinner Maninder Singh said the footwork of the Indian batsman left a lot to be desired.

“Apart from (VVS) Laxman and (Pragyan) Ojha no one looked assured in their footwork. If the further matches extends till the fifth day, life will be very difficult for these batsman.” He said playing Ojha in the team instead of a batsman would be a better bet.

The second Test match starts on Thursday in Galle.