'Reputations are there to be made' - Sangakkara

Sri Lanka are the world's second-best Test side yet their fast-bowling line-up is unlikely to send shivers down a batsman's spine. Their five-member pace contingent for the India tour, comprising Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Dammika Prasad, Angelo Mathews and Chanaka Welegedara, have played 27 Tests among them, sharing 68 wickets with only one five-for (Thushara). Yet, Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's captain, is not edgy about his inexperienced pace attack.

Smart, ambitious and spirited leader that he is, Sangakkara knows the only way he can get the best out of his young bowlers is to encourage and challenge them. Sangakkara is well aware that the young blood understands no defeat. "Reputations are there to be made (on the Indian tour)," Sangakkara said after a long practice session at Motera on a hot Sunday afternoon.

"When you bring in a lot of fresh guys who have perspective and fire in them, they have the great opportunity to pick up wickets of big names in Test cricket. And if they do that, they'll have a reputation going into another series."

The Sri Lankans landed in India exactly a week ago and their stay so far has been a mixed experience. Cyclone Phyan skipped Mumbai but washed out the visitors' only warm-up game ahead of the series, the three-day affair against Board President's XI. It did not help matters when the SuperSopper at the venue (MCA Recreation ground) was moved to the DY Patil Cricket Stadium, which was hosting the final ODI of the India-Australia series. When it was brought back on the final day of the tour game, it started leaking oil. The visitors had to make do with nets, the fast bowlers hardly getting any freedom to charge in with a full run-up. Sangakkara admitted that it was a bit disappointing.

Despite that, he remains confident of his team's prospects of making history and winning their maiden Test in India in 27 years. "We have a much-improved pace attack. We have a good balance where we can play two or three specialist spinners and still have two fast bowlers playing in the side. That probably is the difference from the sides that came here in the past."

A major shot in the arm for the tourists is Tillakaratne Dilshan's return to peak fitness after he suffered an ankle injury during practice in Mumbai. But today, Dilshan enjoyed a warm-up game of football and Sangakkara confirmed that he [Dilshan] would open the batting with Tharanga Paranavitana. Dilshan, who recently scored the fastest fifty (off 31 balls) by a Sri Lankan in Tests, in Galle against New Zealand, is a valuable addition at the top of the order. Sri Lanka would hope he can rein in his aggression to consolidate later on on a flat pitch, which both Sangakkara and his counterpart MS Dhoni, agreed would steadily get slower.

One area where the Sri Lankans are spoilt for choice is the spin department, with three quality spinners in Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath. The visitors have a difficult task on their hands, considering Sangakkara had earlier pointed out that the chief yardstick to pick a player would be his form.

Murali walks into the team by default, but Sangakkara said he would think hard before picking the second (or even third) spinner. "It is an interesting choice. But if Herath misses out, and if I were him, I would be very, very disappointed because he has outbowled both Murali and Mendis in the previous two Test series [New Zealand and Pakistan] so he has got a very, very good chance."