All of us are aware that Sri Lanka would be hosting India in a 3 Test Series starting from 18th July to 7th August 2010.  If one were to predict the outcome of the series going by past records Indians are expected to lose the series simply because of the fact that Sri Lankans have proved over the last two decades that they are unbeatable at home even against teams like Aussies who whitewashed teams at their peak during Steve Waugh's rein.

However if one is to look at things from a different perspective going by the performance of the Indian team in the recent past it is India who should be holding the upper hand.  The Indian batsmen led by Sachin Tendulkar have been at their brilliant best in the past 3 to 4 years. Sachin Tendulkar  has had an extraordinary run with the bat reeling of four consecutive centuries in his last four tests and a unbeaten double hundred in his last one day international.  When Sri Lankans toured India in November 2009, Indian batsmen never allowed the Sri Lankan bowlers to settle hitting them out of the attack.  The likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Sachin and Dhoni were simply unstoppable mauling the Sri Lankans.  Even the great Muralidhran was not shown any mercy as he ended up with a very pathetic  bowling average of 65.66, at a poor strike rate of 101.20. Muralis bowling average would have been even worse had he not got some free wickets when Indian batsmen got out to him while going for quick runs in the end. While it was not strange to see a Sehwag or Sachin dominating and counterattacking bowlers, what was shattering for Sri Lankan fans was that even the likes of Dravid known for pushes and nudges was hitting Muralidharan for boundaries at will.

The series would also be seen as a clash of two of the best wicket keeper batsmen in the game.  While Kumar Sangakkara was already a household name even before Dhoni made his debut for India, M S Dhoni has wasted no time in establishing himself as the best in the business.  Both of them are also captains but while Sangakkara is the more experienced of the two in terms of games played and international exposure, Dhoni is the more experienced and most successful of the two.  Another thing in Dhonis favour is the fact that he has taken Indian cricket to great heights during his tenure while Sri Lankans fortunes  which where were on the up when Jayasurya and Jaywardene were at the helm, have come down drastically during Sangakkara's reign.  Dhoni also has had the upper hand with results going his way when the two met earlier. If one adds Dhoni's famous luck as captain, then India has a huge upper hand.

Now coming to home advantage Sri Lankans definitely have the home advantage with results going their way almost every occassions but if Indians think differently and think there is not much of difference in pitches in the subcontinet, then even the Sri Lankan home advantage will be neutralized.

The key factor in the series would be Mural is genius and the might of Indian batting and it is here Indians have a huge advantage.  While Murali was pathetic Indian batsmen were simply outstanding and as of now Indians boast of the batting line up in the world, a line up even Australia cannot match. 

• Written by N R SATISH.
• In category Cricket.
• 14 years ago.

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