Final Test preview: India's golden chance to end 22-year wait for victory in Sri Lanka

“It’s very important to stay focused on what needs to be done. Somethings are not in your control but there is where mental strength comes. The mental strength aspect in those difficult situations is something that we have touched up on” – India captain Virat Kohli That was Kohli’s reply to a question about India’s inability to close out matches from a winning position after his team collapsed to lose the first Test in Galle. Losing from a seemingly dominant position can hammer a team’s confidence more than a big defeat can. But Kohli’s men showed tremendous character and mental strength to bounce back and pull off a comprehensive win in the second Test at the P Sara Oval. [caption id=“attachment_2410298” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Virat Kohli celebrates with his teammates during the course of the big win against Sri Lanka in the second Test. AFP[/caption] This win was important not only because it helped India draw level but also it helped them break a nine-match winless streak. As they head to the SSC for the third and final Test, India will be looking to break end a 22-year wait for a series win on Sri Lankan soil. India should gain a lot of confidence from the second Test. They outplayed Sri Lanka in almost every department and practically everyone chipped in with either bat or ball. But they received a couple of blows too, as opener Murali Vijay and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha have been ruled out with injuries. Karun Nair and Naman Ojha have been flown in as replacements. Kohli gave a strong hint that Cheteshwar Pujara will open alongside KL Rahul and Naman Ojha might don the gloves in absence of Saha. This offers Pujara a chance to make his case again. Once considered the cornerstone of the batting line-up, Pujara has fallen out of favour after struggling in England and Australia. His last match came against Australia at the MCG in December 2014. He has just two fifty-plus score in his last 20 innings. It’s won’t be easy for him as he’ll be opening the batting instead of that No.3 position but he’s done it before. Pujara has scores of 41*, 28, 52, 82* while opening, giving him an average of 101.50. “Pujara is pretty solid, and with the new ball, he has opened in the subcontinent before,” Kohli said. “If we had three-four Tests, then you have to think of a proper opener. I feel Pujara has done the job in the past, and we are very confident he will be able to do the job in the next game.” Kohli also hinted that he won’t tinker much with the batting line-up. The bowlers were impressive in the last match. Umesh Yadav and Stuart Binny might not have much to show in the wickets column but they bowled telling spells and looked threatening. The onus will once again be on the spinners - Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra - to deliver. The duo combined to take 14 of the 20 Sri Lankan wickets in the last match. Ashwin has been near unplayable with 17 wickets so far at 16.35 including four dismissals of Kumar Sangakkara. It Sri Lanka’s batting that let them down in the last Test and for most of the first Test too. Apart from captain Angelo Mathews (57) and Dinesh Chandimal (82.33), no one averages more than 50. In fact the third highest average is Lahiru Thirimanne’s 32.50. They looked like rabbits in the headlights against Ashwin and much will depend on how they tackle him. “We need to find out a way to counter-attack him (Ashwin),” Mathews said. “We have to be positive. We can’t just hang around. He will bowl the odd good ball anyway in an over. We just have to look to be positive and score runs against him,” Mathews will again be the go to man in the batting department but Sri Lanka will miss the calming presence of the newly retired Kumar Sangakkara. Chances are Upul Tharanga - who has scored 1113 runs from 20 matches at 31.80 – will come into the side in Sanga’s place. As far as the bowlers go, Dhammika Prasad has been their most threatening pacer but Nuwan Pradeep and Chameera have looked a touch listless. Sri Lanka might be tempted to give uncapped young pacer Vishwa Fernando a shot. The spinners have done a decent job but Tharindu Kaushal needs to be more consistent. Rangana Herath will again be crucial to their chances. Sri Lanka will also want to improve their fielding. They have dropped numerous catches and some have proved to be crucial - Rahul was dropped on 11 by Jehan Mubarak in the first innings at the P Sara Oval and he went on to score a century. The SSC track is the track on which the most runs have been scored in Sri Lanka and it has the third best runs per wicket average of 34.46. Sri Lanka have their joint-best win-loss ratio at home on this ground with 18 wins, 6 losses and 14 draws from 38 matches. The last time they lost a Test here was way back in March 2004 against Australia. They beat Pakistan by 105 runs in 2014. India don’t have the best record at the SSC, having won just one, lost two and drawn four Tests. India haven’t won a series in Sri Lanka since 1993. They haven’t an away series since 2011. Sri Lanka are almost empty on experience with the departure of Sangakkara and their confidence will be low. This is India’s best chance to break the shackles. India’s lone success at the SSC was the series-clinching 235-run victory in 1993, their first and only series win in Sri Lanka. If they manage to repeat the heroics of 1993, it could turn out to be the start of something special for Kohli and his team.