GALLE, July 25: India will look to extend their domination in Tests when they take on a jaded Sri Lanka in the first Test of a three-match series starting here tomorrow.
Its also the same place where they were humiliated before soaring to World No. 1.
Virat Kohli and his men would be keen to avenge their embarrassing loss at the Galle International Stadium in 2015 when they crashed to an embarrassing loss on day four after being bowled out for 112 while chasing 176.
A lot has changed since then as a young and aggressive Kohli has turned into a mature captain, who has led the side to 12 wins out of 17 Tests against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia in 2016-17 season.
The Indian team will be looking to take that confidence into this three-match series, which heralds the onset of a new season, and more importantly, another overseas cycle.
It also marks the second tenure of Ravi Shastri at the helm of affairs. The team has been on-tour for five days now, and collectively they seem to have put the entire saga of Anil Kumble�s premature departure as well as the dramatic coach-selection process behind them.
With Shastri back in charge, along with Bharat Arun guiding the bowlers, there is at least a familiarity about the team�s setting. It is perhaps the only positive aspect of this lengthy, at times distasteful, saga.
In that light, Shastri will also be wary about what playing at Galle entails for visiting teams.
It was the �team director� who had roused his hurting troops before the second Test in Colombo, and it worked just fine as India rallied from 1-0 down to take the series 2-1.
It was the first taste of victory away from home for this young team, as also a welcome change in results after successive losses experienced in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia previously.
As such, that series win not only marked the culmination of a learning process but also laid down the path for an impressive record in the next two years.
Combining the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, India have lost only one out of 23 Tests (against Australia at Pune) since that defeat in Galle.
This superlative run has bred certain all-round consistency within the squad, starting from the top of its batting line-up until the very end. So much so that the bench strength is replete with ready-made options.
It is the reason why the team management is not utterly worried even as KL Rahul has been ruled out of the first Test owing to viral fever.
The Karnataka-opener was just returning to the international arena after recuperating from a shoulder injury that kept him out of action since March, when he was laid low again after the two-day practice match in Colombo.
It means skipper Virat Kohli will have to go in with Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund as first-choice openers. Before the tour began, the two batsmen were competing for one spot.
Dhawan had been relegated from first-choice to third-choice option after the West Indies series last year and then was dropped for the Australia series.
Mukund played in the Bangalore Test against Australia but scored only 16 runs in two innings, so this is another welcome chance for him to impress again.
Beyond the opening slots, the rest of the batting order � from Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane � picks itself. Two years ago, India made the mistake of playing five bowlers here and paid dearly as the shortened line-up was unable to handle Rangana Herath in the fourth innings.
It remains to be seen if Kohli is willing to take a similar gamble again, and if not, Rohit Sharma is expected to return to the Test line-up for the first time since he last played against New Zealand in Indore.
Match starts at 10am. � PTI
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.
Sri Lanka: Rangana Herath (C), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep.
