Aiming to break India Test jinx,Lanka bank on utility players

The Sri Lankans have arrived here 'seeking their first ever Test win on Indian soil' with one of their least experienced squads.

In uncapped 23-year-old Kaushal Silva,Sri Lanka have a wicket-keeper capable of opening the batting. Tillakaratne Dilshan,who bowls handy off-spin and kept wickets in two Test matches earlier this year,has enjoyed immense success since moving to the top of the order,while in Angelo Mathews the visitors possess a genuine fast-bowling all-rounder. Both Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara,meanwhile,double up as useful lower-order batsmen in addition to being their teams leading new-ball pair,while even Rangana Herath,in the side mainly as a left-arm spinner,has opened the innings against Pakistan in a Test match.

The Sri Lankans have arrived here seeking their first ever Test win on Indian soil with one of their least experienced squads. But if there is one feature of his team that skipper Kumar Sangakkara has alluded to repeatedly in the build-up to the forthcoming three-match Test series,it is their flexibility.

We can go into games with three out-and-out fast bowlers,with Mathews in support,and one spinner or even two fast bowlers and two spinners, Sangakkara said during his first media briefing of the tour on Sunday. The key is to put ourselves under pressure in training and enjoy the game. If we dont put ourselves under pressure when training,we just go into games under pressure,and I dont think thats going to work for us.

New trait

Sri Lankan teams have historically been based around a number of specialists whether they possess a sense of mystery around them or not. It has been their more recognisable faces that have been successful during their previous tours. While Aravinda de Silva and Marvan Atapattu led the batting averages during the drawn series in 1997,Ravindra Pushpakumara and Kumara Dharmasena were the most successful wicket-takers. And it was Atapattu and Jayawardene who were the saving graces during their disappointing 2-0 loss in 2005,while Muralitharan ended up with 16 scalps.

But the variety of options the Lankans possess were on show as the visitors underwent their first training session at the BKC ground in Mumbai on Monday morning. Sangakkara and former captain Mahela Jayawardene the pair who form the backbone of the teams batting not surprisingly,had extended sessions in the nets (the captain in fact batted twice) before getting to their fielding drills.

The rest of the team though most of whom are useful with both bat and ball split their time equally between both facets. Wicket-keepers Silva and Prasanna Jayawardene,the first choice,spent their time going through their routines in tandem on the sidelines,while the spin trio of Muttiah Muralitharan,Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath sweated it out as the Lankan bowlers acclimatised themselves with the SG balls and the hot weather in Mumbai,where they face Board Presidents XI in a three-day contest starting Wednesday.

Though Sangakkara insists that the flexibility and the inexperience in his squad will work to his teams advantage,he will be under pressure to find the right mix and hit the right balance as quickly as he can.