Even as India are still reeling from that stunning defeat in the sixth ODI in Guwahati, their next opponent awaits them in the form of Sri Lanka who are watching the action from the sidelines and plotting missions of their own.
Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara, arrived with his team in India only to watch India crumble to conceded the India Australia ODI series by a 4-2 margin. Although India still have one match against Australia in Mumbai, thoughts would have already drifted to the Sri Lankan tour to India and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be the first to admit it will not be easy.
Sangakkara knows Sri Lanka have their own battles but he feels that his team from the Emerald Isle will have fewer pressure points than India. Playing diplomat to the hilt, Sangakkara did not want to be dragged into mind games of whether India would be feeling vulnerable after this loss to Australia, Sangakkara did state that the Indians would feel the pressure of playing and defending their status at home and that Sri Lanka would go out with a fresh approach to wipe out previous history that shows that they have not won a single Test match in India to date.
Sangakkara is travelling light in the absence of Sanath Jayasuriya for the Test matches but he was quick to distance himself from the experience debate, stating that the team with fresh legs and youthful enthusiasm could make up for the lapses of past times and give Sri Lanka a fresh lease of life.
There is no doubt Sri Lanka would be watching for chinks in India’s armours and perhaps would be silently thanking the Australians for roughing up the Indians a little. But can Sri Lanka take advantage? That’s next in the offing.
