West Indies tri-series: India vs Sri Lanka- Five players to watch out for

Nuwan Kulasekara (file photo)

India were cut to size after their Champions trophy triumph by the West Indies in their opening match of the triangular series played at the Sabina Park on Sunday. India had to acclimatize to the West Indian conditions rather swiftly and the batting failed to do so. They looked uncomfortable on the wicket that was drastically slower than the surfaces they played on in England.

The Indian side that comfortably scored totals above 300 in the Champions Trophy were struggling to make 200 at one stage in their first match in the Caribbean. Rohit Sharma put up some resistance at the top of the order but he was unable to capitalize on a good start once again and deserted the Indian innings at a critical stage with a rash shot. This indicates that the tournament will be a bigger challenge than they thought it would be.

West Indies, on the other hand, are now safely on the top of the table with consecutive victories against their sub-continent rivals. They will have nobody to blame but themselves if they fail to make the finals from this stage. India will face Sri Lanka in a key encounter at Jamaica on Tuesday. The winner of the fixture will hold the upper hand in the race to the final. Both the teams will be well aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses as they have contested so many matches against each other in the recent past, the last one being the Champions Trophy semi-final that India won convincingly.

Here is a list of five players who will matter the most on Tuesday:

5. R. Ashwin

The off-spinner bowled a good spell against the West Indies to bring India back into the hunt when West Indies were cruising along. He seems to enjoy the spinning conditions that West Indies offers and while he becomes a bigger threat when there is a bit of bounce on offer, he will make the best out of what he gets. The fact that MS Dhoni was not on the pitch leading the side during the West Indian chase made a huge difference and one wonders if he would have made better use of Ashwin’s wicket taking ability. He was one of the standout performers in the semi-final against Sri Lanka in the Champions trophy and those fond memories should spur him to do well in this match.

4. Nuwan Kulasekara

The Sri Lankan bowling line-up does not enjoy bowling to the Indian batsmen. Lasith Malinga has had a nightmare spell against the Indians and he was put to the sword once again in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy. Virat Kohli, especially, cherishes the opportunity to bat against him. He is unlikely to redeem himself on Tuesday but his colleague Nuwan Kulasekara can create some trouble. We saw Darren Sammy deriving a bit from the pitch against India and was effective as he did not give the batsmen any pace to work with. If Kulasekara can do the same, he can pose a threat to the Indian batting lineup.

Virat Kohli (file photo)

The right-handed batsman was dismissed early on in the innings against the West Indies even though he showed some glimpses of his form. He has been a bit unlucky in the recent past with his dismissals but he looks to be on the verge of a big innings. He has a penchant for the bowling lineup of the Lankan lions and will be eager to make a significant contribution. The surfaces are slow and difficult for the batsman who comes in after a dismissal and hence it is of paramount importance that if a batsman scores big if he manages to get a good start.

2. Mahela Jayawardene

Jayawardene was stroking the ball well in the first innings but failed to capitalize on that and therein lay the reason for Sri Lanka’s defeat. He is critical in that middle order given the vulnerability of Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne. The greatest part of the responsibility of scoring runs in this team lies on him and Kumar Sangakkara. They are high quality players who can negotiate any attack but Jayawardene holds the edge on slower surfaces. He uses his feet effectively against spin. So, if he is around in the middle overs, Sri Lanka can bottle one end up when Jadeja and Ashwin are bowling in tandem.

1. Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan’s sensational rise in international cricket has been a boon for Indian cricket as they needed someone to fill Virender Sehwag‘s shoes. Dhawan offers a bit of that with his ability to dominate the bowling attack but has the ability to switch gears in testing conditions. His early dismissal in the game against the West Indies was a rare failure but he looked in good touch during his short stay at the crease. Indian fans will be expecting him to come with a big knock once again.