India eye 2-0 victory margin to top rankings
Posted on Dec 01, 2009 at 13:13 | Updated Dec 01, 2009 at 22:50
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Mumbai: A chance to go atop the world rankings at stake, India take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the third and final Test here Wednesday hoping to wrap up the series 2-0.
As Test cricket returns to the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium after more than three and a half decades, the hosts are clear favourites to wrap up the rubber with another victory following the landmark 100th win at Kanpur inside four days.
A 2-0 victory margin in the series would take India to the top of the ICC Test rankings table, two points above current number one South Africa.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men appear to carry too big an arsenal, especially in batting, for the comfort of Kumar Sangakkara's visiting team which needs to buckle up and leave behind the morale-shattering innings defeat in Kanpur.
Dhoni has been lucky with the toss in the first two Tests, though his team faced down the barrel at 32 for four on the first morning of the series at Ahmedabad before being rescued by the tenacity of Rahul Dravid and the grit of Yuvraj Singh.
That first session and the mammoth total of 760 during which they made the Indians chase leather for over two days were the only periods of domination by Sri Lanka in the series as the hosts took an iron-like grip right through the second match before surging to a thumping victory.
India would be without in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, maker of four Test hundreds on the trot in as many matches since the March-April tour of New Zealand and seven in his last nine Tests. The Lankans would hope to drive a wedge into the home team's rock-solid top order in the Delhi left-hander's absence, who has opted out to attend his sister's wedding.
Young Tamil Nadu innings-launcher Murali Vijay has got his second opportunity to show his capabilities at the Test level due to Gambhir's pull-out. He needs to not only grab it with both hands but also play the ideal foil to the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag and Vijay had forged good partnerships of 98 and 116 in their previous association for India as openers at Nagpur just over a year ago in the fourth Test against Australia.
Vijay stepped in for Gambhir, who was serving a one-Test ban on disciplinary grounds after elbowing all rounder Shane Watson, at the previous Delhi Test. He made 33 and 41.
Vijay got his chance to make his Test debut after being rushed into the highest form of the game straight from the Ranji Trophy tie in Nashik against Maharashtra on the strength of associating with a plus-400 stand with Abhinav Mukund.
Sri Lanka's Chanaka Welegedara, who can bowl good in-swingers would fancy his chances against Vijay. The Lankans will once again miss Dammika Prasad, who has not yet recovered from a hamstring injury picked during the opening Test.
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