The last time Nagpur opened its arms to Test cricket in November 2015, South Africa stepped onto a spinning minefield. The highest team total in the three-day affair was India's 215 in the first innings, and fast bowlers from both sides played bridesmaids. Only seven of the 40 wickets to fall went to the quicks, each of those picked by the South African pair of Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel. But that was last time, when India didn't have a tough away tour for Tests immediately after.
Not for the first time this series, an Indian player was asked about conditions and their co-relation to India's preparation for the upcoming tour of South Africa. Only this time, Virat Kohli went ahead and conceded it. "Yes, because unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over. So we have no choice but be in game situation and think of what's coming ahead of us. Had we got a month off ideally, we would have done a proper preparation in a camp sort of scenario but we have to sort of make do with what we have."
But India's intention of testing their skills on seam-friendly conditions before the big tour may not come to fruition in Nagpur. At least, that's what Dinesh Chandimal would like to believe from what he's seen of the pitch. Despite the presence of grass cover at the VCA stadium, the Sri Lankan captain reckons the wicket will not assist the fast bowlers as much as the Eden Gardens, and went on to suggest that batsmen will have a couple of good days before turn takes effect.
Wouldn't Ravichandran Ashwin like that to play out? India's premier Test spinner bowled eight overs in Eden Gardens and ended wicketless. When Ashwin last played in Nagpur, he walked away with a bagful of wickets, and he'd like much of the same this time around. Green surface or dry, the game will also be a good chance for Murali Vijay to win back his opener's spot from Shikhar Dhawan, who has opted out of the second Test with personal reasons.
Beyond Vijay, India have a batting concern to address. In unfavourable conditions, the entire top-order - barring Cheteshwar Pujara - looked in discomfort on the first morning, and will surely need to do better if India are to come away from South Africa with a favourable result. Sri Lanka too will get into a huddle and talk about the fourth-innings harakiri that nearly cost them the first Test, while also discussing ways to provide better support to pacer Suranga Lakmal, who played the most prominent role in keeping Sri Lanka ahead of the hosts on most days of the first Test.
When: India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test November 24-November 28, 9:30 AM IST
Where: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
What to expect: Five sunny days, with maximum temperature hovering in the early 30s. The surface has a bit of green but may not carry the demons of Eden Gardens, considering the weather in Nagpur is expected to be nothing like it was in Kolkata during the first Test.
Team News:
India
Vijay for Dhawan and Ishant Sharma for Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the likely forced changes for the home side. It could be interesting to see if the team management gets tempted to play an extra batsman in place of a spinner to cover for the handy lower-order contributions of Bhuvneshwar, which they won't have in the game. If the Nagpur wicket turns out to be as dry as it usually is, they might not need that change.
Probable XI: Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja/Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's decision to field Dasun Shanaka as the all-round option provided mixed results. The medium-pacer fared well as a bowler, picking five wickets across the two innings, but couldn't offer much with the bat. But Chandimal has been a strong advocate of a combination that includes six batsmen, four bowlers and an all-rounder, which should keep Shanaka in the side.
On a favourable surface, fast bowler Lahiru Gamage put in an underwhelming performance. If Sri Lanka do seek a replacement, left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando could be an option. Chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan could also be in the running for a spot in the final XI, if they believe spin could take precedence, as it always does, in Nagpur.
Probable XI: Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka/Lakshan Sandakan, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Lahiru Gamage/Vishwa Fernando, Suranga Lakmal
Did you know:
- VCA Stadium in Nagpur has lowest run rate among all Indian venues (2.91) which hosted at least two Tests since 2007. Feroz Shah Kotla, where the third Test will be played, is the only other venue with sub-three run rate (2.95) in this period.
- Dinesh Chandimal needs 22 more runs to become the 13th Sri Lankan to reach the milestone of 3000 runs. If he gets there in another four innings, he will become the fourth-fastest to do so for Sri Lanka.
- Dilruwan Perera and Suranga Lakmal need four and five wickets respectively to reach 100 Test wickets. For India, Umesh Yadav is three away and Mohammed Shami eight from the milestone.
What they said:
"We pick a squad keeping in mind all 15 are equipped with what is required to perform at the international level. These kinds of scenarios where two guys miss out for personal reasons is an opportunity for the guys who get games in these situations. I am not worried at all." - Virat Kohli on the absence of Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
"It is a good Test wicket, that's what I feel. The first few days will be good for batters. Then it might turn. That's the kind of wickets I can think that is." - Dinesh Chandimal's assessment of the Nagpur surface.Teams:India (From): Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Vijay ShankarSri Lanka (From): Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Niroshan Dickwella(w), Dasun Shanaka, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Roshen Silva, Dhananjaya de Silva
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