Visitors flex their muscles

Coach Greg Chappell will unveil India8217;s new and, hopefully, improved batting order at the Rangiri Stadium tomorrow at the Indian Oil Cu...

Coach Greg Chappell will unveil India8217;s new and, hopefully, improved batting order at the Rangiri Stadium tomorrow at the Indian Oil Cup triangular.

So far he has got the better of his opposite number 8212; Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody 8212; by keeping his cards very close to his chest. There is uncertainty about the opening pair, the pivotal number three and the bowling combination, but not in the dressing room.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka are struggling to piece together a formidable bowling attack 8212; Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa are out with injuries 8212; to test the Indian line-up which, despite the absence of batting giants Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, looks promising. Add to that Sanath Jayasuriya will probably have his sixth opening partner in less than 18 months: left-handed Upul Tharanga.

Rahul Dravid on his first full assignment as captain has bought into Chappell8217;s flexibility policy and said that the final selection process is not cast in stone and finding the right batsman for the position would be the key.

Of course, when Ganguly returns to the fold for the second leg of the tourney Dravid will have to bank more on ingenuity than mere flexibility to get the balance and the dynamics right.

VVS Laxman though seems like the best option to open with Virender Sehwag with Mahendra Singh Dhoni providing the pyrotechnics later in the innings. The most important position in the order will be finding the right slot for Mohammad Kaif who is better equipped to keep the scoreboard busy in the middle order with his special knack to steal the single. Four seems like the ideal position for him preceded by skipper Dravid and followed by Dhoni or Yuvraj Singh.

The bowling line-up seems more predictable with Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan sure to share the new ball with JP Yadav filling in as the third seam option. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble should fit into the eleven with Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh on stand by for Plan B.

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India should make sure that they punish the new ball with both Vaas and Zoysa lost to injuries inside 12 hours. A serious hamstring strain sidelined Vaas on Thursday morning but the Zoysa8217;s back injury has cropped up at a difficult time for the Lankans during a practice match under lights on Thursday. Zoysa, who was impressive in last year8217;s Asia Cup and against South Africa, has returned to Colombo for treatment and has been replaced by Pradeep Jayaprakash.

This has led to a shift in strategies for the Lankans and the final make up of their side. To strengthen the lower-order batting skipper Marvan Atapattu8217;s plan would be to bring in newcomer Dilhara Lokuhettige, who can also fulfill the role that Vaas normally holds as a bowler.

If the Indians can decode the guile of 10 Muthiah Muralitharan overs and make sure that Sanath Jayasuriya fails to score the 76 runs to 10,000 ODI runs, they could be in a great position to kick off the new season with a win.

BATTLES WITHN THE WAR

Sehwag Vs Malinga

Two players whose technique does not come from any book. The earlier Sehwag gets the hang of the sling, the better for India.

Yuvraj Vs Murali

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Yuvraj has done little so far to suggest he can handle Muttiah Muralitharan. If he continues to fail, it puts the whole middle order under pressure.

Jayasurya Vs Zaheer

If Jayasurya gets off to his usual flying start, India will be on a leather hunt all around Dambulla. Zaheer, with awkward bounce, has the arsenal to get him early.

Dhoni Vs Sangakkara

Glovesmen who champion with bat. Both have become key links in the batting line-ups. And the 8217;keeping skills will be put to a stern test in the spin land.