India will be looking for some valuable World Test Championship (WTC) points when they open their campaign in the Pink Ball Test against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.
India, who are currently ranked fifth in the WTC 2021/23 table with five wins, three losses, two draws and no result in 11 Tests in the current cycle, are fifth on the percentage points earned so far in the second Test. Is. , a day-nighter. The Rohit Sharma-led Test team has 54.16 per cent points and is not far behind South Africa, who have 60 per cent points.
Australia lead the table with 77.77 percentage points after a massive Ashes win, followed by Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
For a team going through a transition, India made a great statement of intent with an innings and 222-run victory in the first Test in Mohali under new Test captain Rohit Sharma. While it cemented India’s fifth position in the WTC standings, they will look to go further with a win in Bengaluru.
Ravindra Jadeja was the star of the show with an unbeaten 175 in the first innings, followed by nine wickets in the next two innings. All-rounder talent helped him rise to the top of the ICC Test rankings for all-rounders.
India has made one change in the team in which Axar Patel has been included in place of Kuldeep Yadav. Patel, who last played against New Zealand in November, has recovered from COVID-19 along with a calf injury and could make it to the playing XI in place of Jayant Yadav.
Sri Lanka would like to make a comeback after a crushing defeat in the first Test. Asked to bowl first, the bowlers looked helpless and the batsmen also looked colourless, with only two half-centuries in the entire match.
Two positive players for Sri Lanka were Pathum Nisanka and Niroshan Dickwella, who scored half-centuries. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne will have to lead from the front with the bat, especially after an injury ruled Nissenka out of the second Test, and will hopefully fall to other pieces if they want to break their Test hoodoo in India.
The Test will be Suranga Lakmal’s final match for Sri Lanka and the islanders will be looking forward to bid farewell to the veteran bowler to remember him.
In the last Test in Mohali, Jadeja’s unbeaten 175 and half-centuries from Rishabh Pant (96) and Ravichandran Ashwin (61) helped the hosts post a mammoth total of 574/8 before declaring. In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 174 runs, with Jadeja taking five wickets.
Asked to follow-on, Niroshan Dickwella’s unbeaten 51 helped the Tourists manage only four better than their first innings total. For the hosts, Jadeja and Ashwin took four wickets, the latter surpassing Kapil Dev to become India’s second-highest player. Wicket takers in test cricket.
In the end, the spin twins proved too hot to handle for the visitors as India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs.
“It all depends on the person. The pink ball looks different, the speed at which it comes to you on the field and the speed it spins or spins is also different. Also the timing of the day-night Test varies. It’s different, so the ball might not be able to do much in the first session, but can start doing more in the light. We’ve played the pink ball Test on all different surfaces, so there are no set parameters for that.” India’s vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah said before the Pink Ball Test.
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