KL Rahul will open innings in 2nd Test, confirms Virat Kohli

I can see a big difference in him since his first Test as captain and now. He is a really good batsman. After that knock we won that game. If you can do that, you can perform.

Sri Lanka’s highest scorer from Galle – Dimuth Karunaratne – is also their highest scorer for the year so far, though by a very slim margin. “Virat is progressing in the same direction as well”, said the Indian coach. That’s what I’m always talking to the boys. If we get those five things right, then the result will be good. Mukund did score his second Test half-century in the second innings, but it could be a case of too little, too late for the Tamil Nadu opener.

But when I got in, it was pretty much from where I left. Thanks to the ICC, they gave me the permission to use the inhaler and that will help me breathe properly. “Rangana Herath is also fit to play”, said Chandimal. Though Colombo wicket is not expected to be as batsman friendly as the Galle wicket was, the hosts will want their bowlers to be better that the first Test.

He will be joined by batsman Lahiru Thirimanne, who last played an global Test in June 2016. Chandimal will also ensure that the responsibility of scoring all the runs does not fall squarely on Tharanga and Mathews, both of whom succumbed early in the second innings of the match. He was in the news when he joined a political party past year. “That’s where the experience of having played the game and watched it for so long comes in handy”, he added.

Shastri was involved in an incident-filled selection process for the head coach just ahead of the tour that included, among other things, confusion surrounding the members of the support staff. Thirimanne is a player with lots of experience.

The last time India played at this venue in 2015, it was a green-top and Pujara as a make-shift opener scored a career-defining 145 not out.

The Sri Lankan cricket team is completely out of its depth against the visitors at the moment, struggling to put in decent performances against any team, be it Zimbabwe, or India. “We’ll have to see the surface”, said Chandimal. Looking on the conditions we can go with anyone.

India beat Sri Lanka by 304 runs in the first Test with a day to spare. Both have their own leadership styles while leading the team India.

“But all in all, I think, playing Test cricket – March is the last when we last played Test cricket – and from then having played so much one-day cricket and not having the time to prepare so much in between”. Credit goes to them.

“I had lot of fun meeting them and when I kissed Kohli people around us started laughing”.

Even as India went through their first training session since wrapping up the opening Test inside four days last week, Rahul batted at length at the practice facilities situated adjacent to Sinhalese Cricket Club Ground, the venue for the second Test.