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Lankan armada in Indian waters
By Marlon Fernandopulle
An upbeat Sri Lanka team led by ICC World Eleven one day captain Marvan Atapattu left the island on Thursday to take on India in seven one day Internationals, the first of which begins on Tuesday at Nagpur.
Atapattu and his team have every reason to be confident after their recent run of success where they defeated Bangladesh, West Indies and India on home soil. Working alongside their new low profile but highly effective new coach Tom Moody, the Sri Lankans now boast of a well experienced and balanced line up that has kept improving with every game.

Speaking to the Sunday Times soon after the team’s final practice session the Lankan skipper Marvan Atapattu said, "We know we have done well in Sri Lanka, but it is different when you face the Indians in India. We are all geared up for the tour and hopefully if we can play to our potential we should be very competitive against the Indians”.

On paper the Lankans hold the edge over the Indians with most of their players now veterans in the one-day games. Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan who will be spearheading the Lankan bowling attack have both played in over 250 games and have already taken over 700 wickets between them.

In contrast the Indians will bank on Ajith Agarkar, Irfan Pathan and Harbajahn Singh who together have played in just 285 games. The hosts will have to rely on rookies Rudra Pratap Singh (one game), J P Yadav (seven games) and debutant Sreesanth to contain the strong and dangerous Lankan batting line-up.

However skipper Marvan Atapattu was a bit weary facing a relatively inexperienced Indian team. “True, they are low on experience. But sometimes that can cause a lot of problems when we have to deal with little known players”.

The skipper also admitted that the seven one dayers are not going to be a cakewalk for his side who are ranked the second best in the world today. “Playing in India is always a challenge and a demanding task. Conditions can be similar to home but they are bound to have that home advantage with them. Anyway this is something that my team and I enjoy. We are ready for the challenge, looking forward to it and hopefully should deliver”, said a confident Atapattu.

The tour to India is only the beginning of a grueling season ahead for the Lankans that will see the islanders travel to New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan and England and play over 30 one dayers in the next 7-8 months. “It is important that we perform well as we all know that we have a very good home record like most countries. We now get the opportunity to prove ourselves overseas and keep up the momentum. I know it’s not going to be easy. But we are very eager to prove ourselves”, Atapattu concluded.

After loosing two triangular tournaments and embroiled in a controversial Captaincy –Coach spat that hit the cricketing world, Rahul Dravid the new Indian skipper will be hard pressed to lift the team from its current depths. His problems have been compounded following the injuries to three key players Mohamed Kaif, Ashish Nehra and Saurav Ganguly.

The only silver lining for Dravid is the return of Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Although the genius is struggling to regain his lost touch Dravid and India are aware that it will only be a matter of time before Tendulkar regains his magic touch.

The Sri Lanka team will also have their new assistant coach Trevor Penny with them. Penny a Warwickshire product worked for the England and Wales Cricket Board as a Fielding Coach and was involved with the Ashes winning England team. Penny is expected to take the burden off Moody and also provide his expertise on fielding.

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