The limelight will be on Kumar Sangakkara as Sri Lanka’s famous son doffs his hat and raises his bat for one last time during the second Test against India which is scheduled to start on 20th August at P. Sara Oval stadium.
Even if Dinesh Chandimal and Rangana Herath had not conspired to pull off one of Test cricket’s greatest comeback victories last week in Galle, this game would have been an emotional farewell to the cricketing world as one of the greatest cricketers ever bows out of this game we all love so much.
India have only come back twice after going 0-1 down in a Test series before this, against England in 1972 and against Australia in 2001. They dominated most of the first Test but a few bad sessions gave the game away. Consistency and fighting skills of the visitors will be once again tested.
As good as he was in coloured clothes, it is in whites that Sangakkara will be remembered as one of cricket’s perfectionist. Not as famous as Tendulkar, not as easy on the eye as Lara, and not as aggressive as Ponting, he was nevertheless more consistent than any other batsman of his era. Since Sir Garfield Sobers played his final Test in 1974, no batsman has averaged more than Sangakkara’s 57.71. In 85 Tests sans the keeping gloves, that figure is an astonishing 67.39.
There are plenty of questions that need answering. Can India bounce back from the shocking loss? Can Sri Lanka close out the series and give Sangakkara a fitting farewell? Will Sangakkara say goodbye with a special ton? Harbhajan Singh or Stuart Binny? Or, will rain play spoilsport and render the match and the occasion useless?
“From what can I can see, he just wants to score a hundred tomorrow. He’s worked extremely hard and is so determined to do that. I truly wish and hope he does that. It’s going to be an emotional game for him. The best we could do is try and win the game so that we win the series. That will be the best farewell for him,” Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews said in the pre-match press conference.
Pitch & Weather Conditions
P. Sara Oval is renowned as the best result-oriented venue in South Asia. Out of the last 18 matches, only 4 games ended without a result and Sri Lanka have won eight of them, including their last match against Pakistan. The seamers will enjoy the most out of this deck but the forecasts predict that there will be rain on all-five days but on Wednesday it was bright and sunny. The stadium is expected to be jam-packed for the duration of the match.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka will not want to tinker with their winning combination but an injury to fast-bowler Nuwan Pradeep’s hamstring has ruled him out of the contention. The young speedster Dushmantha Chameera is expected to play the match after recovering from a side strain after playing Pakistan at this same venue.
Probable XI – Dimuth Karunarathne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews*, Jehan Mubarak, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhammika Prasad, Tharindu Kaushal, Rangana Herath, Dushmantha Chameera.
India
Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remainder of the series, and despite Virat Kohli confident of Murali Vijay’s availability, the opener is still not a 100% fit. Vijay would partner KL Rahul at the top of the order should he pass fit, otherwise Cheteshwar Pujara would slot in at the top. Stuart Binny is expected to play as a fast-bowling all-rounder at number 7 in place of Harbhajan Singh who had a moderate outing in Galle.
Probable XI – Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli*, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhaman Saha, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma.
