After a big debacle in the first test match against the Lankan tigers, Indian team is meeting the strong opponents again today. In the first test match India suffered its heaviest innings defeat in 34 years. So Indians will be battling the huge pressure on their shoulders.

The second test is coming as the real test of nerves for the Indian side. Now is the time to defeat the Lankan side to win the test series. To win the series, all the weapons will have to be used in this battle. This victory is also badly needed to curb the shrilling voices of criticism, coming from all the directions! This match is giving the right opportunity to launch a backlash but it is going to be a long and hard climb ahead.

Definitely there is a lot of resilience and experience in Indian team which may prove helpful for the team. No shuffling of personnel is expected and Kumble will be banking on his batsmen to play a big role in the expected revival. For the Indian side the toughest challenge is to restrict the deadly new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis.

On the other hand even the Lankans know that the Indian team can not be taken for granted. The Lankan skipper, Mahela Jayawardene told the media, “We know how good they are. I’m sure they are very disappointed after the first Test. They will come back strongly”.

But Galle is a happy hunting ground for the hosts so the Indians will need to push hard. The past records tell us that Sri Lanka has lost just one of the last nine games played here. Moreover there are some other dangerous figures as well - Muttiah Muralitharan has picked up 91 wickets in 12 games; and Mahela Jayawardene enjoys a devastating average of 99 here. These figures are quite intimidating so Indian team needs to come with best possible strategies and skills.

For India, to nurse the ambitions of winning the three-match series, there is a desperate need of perfect coordination between the batsmen and the bowling side. Its new-ball bowlers will find greater assistance here than they did in the first Test.

Much burden is there on the shoulders of Indian spinners - Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. They need to get the early wickets of those batsmen who play Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis every other day in the nets. So there is a bountiful of challenge in front of the batting and bowling sides. In the last test Kumble was particularly unlucky to have Jayawardene dropped twice and finished wicketless. So there is also greater need of discipline in fielding as well.

In this match the result of the toss does not appear to matter as the four matches have been won by the side batting first, four by the side bowling first here. On the Lankan side Muralitharan needs nine for 100 wickets at this venue, so it remains to be seen whether he succeeds in achieving this figure or not. On Indian side here is a chance for Rahul Dravid to become India’s second-highest run-getter and Sachin Tendulkar needs 133 to pass Brian Lara’s record run aggregate. So a lot of action will be there on the field and Indian team will hope to achieve the best in this test.

The sides:
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt.), Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara, Chamara Kapugedera, Chamara Silva and Dammika Prasad.

India: Anil Kumble (capt.), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha and Parthiv Patel.
Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Rudi Koertzen.
Third umpire: Mark Benson.
Match referee: Alan Hurst.
Hours of play (IST): 10.15 a.m. to 12.15 p.m., 12.55 p.m. to 2.55 p.m. and 3.15 p.m. till close.