COLOMBO, Aug 8: Sachin Tendulakar's public portrayal is that of a leader who radiates in the fresh hope that the dawn of a new day brings in. But a scratch on the superficial optimism reveals a pragmatist who would not be given easily to delusions. He has learnt quickly that speaking the truth only stirs up controversies but does not solve the problems. The facade that he has to maintain in his pre- and post-match pronouncements about men and matters is treated as occupational hazards.Tendulkar had to go through the whole exercise on the eve of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, which gets under way at the Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground, tomorrow. He was still expressing hope and optimism as defeats and draws are reduced to another piece of statistics.Young Tendulkar may not have the cerebral excellence of Mike Brearley, the motivational assets of Imran Khan, the statesman like stature of Clive Lloyd or the combative brilliance of Ian Chappell. But even those great captains could not have done much with this Indian team which is so light on talent.What kind of residual effect will the first Test's record Lankan total of 952-6 declared have on the Indian team? Just two days have elapsed since India fielded well over three successive days to suffer what has been the greatest slaughter in the history of Test cricket. It is bound to have some dent on the minds of the Indian players, though, for obvious reasons, there will be no open acceptance of the fact.The scenario at the SSC, which also houses the headquarters of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), is almost a polar opposite to the one at the Premdasa Stadium. The batsmen will have to earn their runs on a strip which is expected to give copious help to the seam bowlers.The Indian seamers revelled at the SSC under helpful conditions in the rain-truncated match against Pakistan in the Pepsi Asia Cup. The duo of Venkatesh Prasad and Abey Kuruvilla made the ball wobble around to have the Pakistan batsman groping around like men lost in a thick fog. Pakistan were 30 for five in nine overs when rain forced the match to be abandoned.Though the Indians have not given a thought on their composition for the morrow, it's to be expected that they will bolster their seam-attack by dispensing either Rajesh Chauhan or Nilesh Kulkarni. Debasish Mohanty did reasonably well in his first and only match of the tour - the three-day game prior to the first Test and could not hope for better conditions in this part of the world to make his debut appearance.India's chances would have been very bright if they were enjoying the services of Javagal Srinath, rendered hors de combat with a shoulder injury. Srinath would have been a potent force on this wicket with his pace, lift and movement. In fact even somebody with the experience and pace of Salil Ankola would have made a huge difference to the attack.Sri Lanka are better equipped in this department with Chaminda Vaas and Ravindra Pushpakumara likely to be joined in the fray by Sajeewa de Silva.Sajeewa had a long bowl at the SSC practice wickets, impressing with his bounce and deceptive pace. The fact that both he and Vaas are left-armers is not going to make things easier for India.The Lankans too, have not short-listed their options, holding their cards as close to their chest as the Indians. But a change in their eleven is a certainty as they have dropped left-arm spinner Jayanta Silva from the eleven that played at Premadasa. The Lankan selectors have also dropped opener Russel Arnold, who was in the reserves.Any bounce in the wicket will be welcomed by the Indians as it could just be the tonic that Anil Kumble may need to regain his confidence and bowling rhythm back. Kumble is far too intelligent a man not to realise his failings, but at the moment he seems to be undergoing a mental turmoil.Kumble, however, has happy memories of the venue. ``I took eight wickets (5-87 and 3-85) and India won the match when we last played a Test here in 1993,'' he told The Indian Express.
