5 things India should do to win a Test series in Sri Lanka after two decades

Sri Lanka has been one of the toughest places for India to win in the last few years. The Sri Lankans, proverbial tigers at home, are very difficult to beat in their own backyard and will start as firm favourites against India in the Test series.India have enjoyed sporadic success in Test matches in the recent past and there are quite a few areas they will have to work on if they are to improve. The sight of batsmen scoring big runs to help the team post huge totals or a bowler running through oppositions has become somewhat of a rarity in the recent past.There is, however, decent competition for places in the squad which will automatically make everyone hungry to do well. India have not won a Test series on Sri Lankan soil for a decade now and Virat Kohli will certainly hope that they can do things right to turn the tide in their favour against the mighty Lankans.Let us look at the things India should try to do to win:

#1 Play 3 spinners

Spinners like Amit Mishra will have big part to play in the series

It is of no surprise that the Indian spinners are of utmost importance whenever India play a Test match in sub-continental conditions. Historically, spinners have had a big role to play in Sri Lanka and the Indian trio of Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra will be raring to go.

Mishra’s inclusion in the side has been talked about till now and he will be desperate to vindicate the decision. Harbhajan did a decent job in Bangladesh alongside Ashwin and though many believe that Bhajji no longer has the ability to run through oppositions, he is still quite a handful on turning tracks.

Given India's heavy reliance on their spinners to get them wickets and the spin-friendly conditions, India should look to go in with three spinners. Spinners will play a key role in the series The Indian spinners will also interestingly be inevitably up for comparison against their Sri Lankan counterparts and at the end of the day, spinners might just decide the series.

From recent times, Yasir Shah’s success for Pakistan and Imran Tahir’s success for South Africa is proof that visiting teams’ spinner can have a major role to play in Lanka.

#2 Pujara should bat at 3

Cheteshwar Pujara can provide the much-needed cover for Kohli to come in at No.4

Cheteshwar Pujara was once considered to be the ideal man to be Dravid's successor for many years to come. But that has not been the case - a bad run of form has led to him being axed from the side.

But Pujara has regained some form as seen from his decent stint with Yorkshire - his unbeaten 133 off 182 deliveries at Headingley this year bears ample testimony to that. In the first unofficial 4-day match against Australia A, Pujara got good starts in both the innings, scoring 55 and 42. Though he failed to kick on, he seemed to be middling the ball well.

Pujara has the technique to be successful in overseas conditions and he can be the long term no. 3 for India in Test matches. Virat Kohli has not been in the best of forms of late and he has had problems with the swinging ball outside the off stump. Pujara batting at 3 will also be the much-needed cover for Kohli to come in at no. 4.

#3 Kohli needs to perform now

Virat Kohli and Tamim Iqbal share a chat

Virat Kohli, widely considered to be Indian’s best batsman of this generation, was slated for great things from a very early age. Kohli’s recent slump in form, however, has instigated the naysayers to question Kohli’s potential and temperament. There are also fears that Kohli might have peaked too early.

Considered to be one of the best emerging batsmen of the next generation, Kohli seems to be losing out to the likes of Joe Root and Steve Smith in the much talked about four-horse race. Kohli’s slump has continued for some time now and it is imperative Kohli scores big runs in this series to put all doubts to rest.

Kohli’s ability to dominate attacks and score big means that once he hits a purple patch, the Indian batting line-up will automatically start to look stronger again. His captaincy can naturally feed off his batting which means if he scores runs, he can take that confidence into his captaincy when he leads the team out onto the field.

#4 Rahane should retain his place

Ajinkya Rahane had success on the Zimbabwe tour as well, where he was stand-in captain

If Pujara bats at 3 and India play five bowlers, it will come down to a fierce competition between Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane for the no. 5 slot. Rahane's recent form has not been great but he has made quite a few value contributions for India in Test matches.

Rahane has the patience and calmness of character to score big in trying conditions. His centuries in Australia and England had class and temperament written all over them - they proved that Rahane had passed the acid test to rightfully earn his place in the Test team.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has been wasteful in squandering away the good starts he has been getting in Test matches. Though there is no question mark over his talent and he has, over the years, turned into a prolific ODI batsman, he has not been able to replicate his form in Test matches.

After the two centuries he has scored in his debut series in Tests, Sharma has passed 50 only twice in 17 innings after that with a best score of 72. With a batting average of 47, Rahane looks to be the more accomplished batsman at the Test level and Rohit Sharma will once again patiently have to wait for his chances.

#5 Ashwin should bat at 6

Ravichandran Ashwin’s shots have a classical air about them

Going in with three spinners and two fast bowlers means automatically sacrificing some depth in the batting order. With Jadeja not having been included, India's biggest problem is not having a seasoned all-rounder who can get runs lower down the order.

Ashwin has a sound technique with the bat and has made a few key contributions over the years. Ashwin's stance and his shots have a classical feel to them which makes you wonder what he could do if he was given more time out in the middle.

Ashwin looks uncomfortable while slogging and the reason why he has not kicked on in many innings is because of his concern of running out of partners. Contrastingly, Ashwin looks to be an accomplished batsmen when he does not worry too much about what is happening at the other end.

With Wriddhiman Saha coming in after him, Ashwin will have more assurance and can turn out into a reliable batsman if he puts a price on his wicket. If Ashwin starts getting runs at no. 6, it would be a long-term solution to India's problem of not having an all-rounder.