Muralis shadow on the series

So what after Galle? Considering the fact that Sri Lankas winning percentage went from 5 to 45 during Muralis 18 years career,it will be tough to fill Muralis void. We have not had a bowler like him. It will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka fare when Murali is not around. No bowler will be able to match Muralitharans aura. Hopefully,those who get a break once he retires will be able to capitalise on it, Ranatunga told The Indian Express.

Even when the world was focussed on the mystery weaved by Ajantha Mendis,who took a record 26 wickets in the three Tests against India in 2008,Muralitharan did exceptionally well,accounting for 21 scalps. Since then,a 10-wicket haul against Bangladesh and 13 wickets in two Test against New Zealand have been his stand-out figures.

Sri Lanka,within a year,will now be without two of their sharpest bowlers. Chaminda Vaas,the left-arm paceman,retired from the five-day game after the Colombo Test against Pakistan last July. Chanaka Welegedara,Thilan Thushara and Nuwan Kulasekara,among others,have been used to fill the gap created by his departure. Lasith Malinga,their impact bowler,set to return to Test cricket during the series,hasnt played in over two-and-a-half years,courtesy injury.

Kumar Sangakkaras side have won two,lost two and drawn one of their five Tests since Vaas called it a day. Lanka will feel the pinch of Muralis departure while playing at home. Forty-four of the off-spinners 66 five-wicket hauls have been in Sri Lanka and 15 of his 22 10-wickets in a match have been recorded at home.

Indians have treaded a similar path. They have had to deal with the absence of a legend since November 2008. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh formed a mean pair of slow bowlers. In fact,Harbhajans last 10-wicket haul in a Test came when he and Kumble recorded the series only win at Galle,two years ago.

The search for a strong partner for Harbhajan Singh is still on. For this series,left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and leg-spinner Amit Mishra have been roped in,the two best choices at the moment. Ojha has nosed ahead after taking eight wickets in the practice game. How well these two bowl in tandem with Harbhajan could be the key to Indias fortunes,especially in the absence of an injured Zaheer Khan.

A bulk of the responsibility of taking wickets will be on Harbhajan. The off-spinner went wicketless for long spells in the first game against South Africa,the last Test series India played,during which he finished with two for 166. Zaheer struck early in that game.

In the next game in Kolkata,Zaheer struck vital blows in the first innings but could bowl only six overs in the second due to injury,and it was Harbhajan who bowled India to a famous win.