da realbet： As the Indians seek to leave behind their 10-wicket mauling in thefirst Test in Galle, recent history is what they must be looking at toprovide them confidence for making a come-back into the three-Testseries
20-Aug-2001As the Indians seek to leave behind their 10-wicket mauling in thefirst Test in Galle, recent history is what they must be looking at toprovide them confidence for making a come-back into the three-Testseries.Going in to the second Test starting in Kandy on Wednesday, theIndians would be boosted by the fact that only recently they haveeffected one of the greatest turnarounds in history – and against oneof the greatest teams of all times. The 2-1 win against Australia mustbe a reassuring thought and giving them the confidence required torepeat that performance.But more importantly, the Indians realise that it would be the hostswho would be under pressure despite their thumping victory in Galle.The Sri Lankans have lost their previous two Tests in Kandy – in theseries against South Africa and England earlier this year – and onboth those occasions, they had come to the city having taken a 1-0lead.In a similar situation this time, the Sri Lankans would be on thedefensive to put their record straight and that provides the Indiansthe breathing space.But history can never be an excuse for non-performance. The Indians,without some of their top stars, were outplayed in every department ofthe game in the first Test. It was only through an unexpectedly heroicninth wicket stand between Rahul Dravid and Venkatesh Prasad thatsaved them the ignominy of a first-ever innings defeat against SriLanka.And a similar fate could await them here if they do not rise to theoccasion and play to their potential.Captain Sourav Ganguly had said after the first match that his teamwould come roaring back the way they did against Australia. “We mustfight back. We have to,” he said.Despite the wide gulf between his words and deeds, he must get itright this time if he has to save his captaincy and probably his placein the team.”Captaining India is an extremely difficult task,” Ganguly said aheadof the second Test. What he probably left unsaid was that he wasfinding it even more difficult to regain his batting form.Once famous for his fluent and artistic off-side play, Ganguly hasbeen woefully short of runs and has not touched fifty in the last 12Test innings. Coupled with his frequent courting of trouble withumpires and match-referees, he has attracted a lot of criticism withdemands for his head growing with each failure.He has been outsmarted by the opposition in his own forte, having beenrestricted in his natural play by a packed off-side field and forcedto make mistakes.If he is hoping for any respite in Kandy, he won’t find any with rivalcaptain Sanath Jayasuriya saying on Monday that Sri Lanka wouldcontinue to play with four fast bowlers.”We have our strongest pace attack in recent times and I think thatwould be vital for the team’s chances,” Jayasuriya said.Coach Dave Whatmore agreed with the captain. “Right now our fastbowlers are on top and we will continue with them,” he said.