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India is hosting Sri Lanka at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, in a pink ball Test. India has played three pink ball Test matches till date out of which they have  won against Bangladesh and England and lost to Australia.

The pink ball Test match is a Day/ Night affair and the pink ball moves more under the lights as Pink ball has three layers of lacquer  against two layers in the red ball. So the ball moves more and also the shine stays for a longer period.

The first Test was an emphatic victory and it was a team effort of partnerships till Sir Jadeja walked to bat. His 175 tilted the balance in favour of India. However, our readers will recall that we wrote that Ashwin and Jadeja will take wickets and pacers will have less impact. It was indeed shocking to find only one spinner in the Sri Lankan squad. Chances are they were misled by Sunil Gavaskar, who stated that Bumrah will take a fiver. 

Why India has become a winning unit

Our readers will recall that, when Rahul Dravid declared Indian innings in Multan, Tendulkar was at 194. The whole media  made it a big issue including Tendulkar. Here Jadeja himself asked the skipper to declare at 175, to make use of the weakened legs of the Lankans. 

Further Kapil Dev was helped by other bowlers to cross Richard Hadlee by bowling wide of the stumps. Even When Kumble took ten wickets, other bowlers were bowling away from the stumps. Here Jadeja would have been the first player to score 150+ and taken 10 wickets but each bowler bowled to take wickets. 

In the earlier times, the match would have gone to the 4th day but Jadeja's record would have been created. Ever Wondered why the average of Kohli is only 50? as he plans to set up victory and not to make statistical achievement.

Kudos to the spirit of the current Indian team.

Match timings

Match Toss Time: 09:00 IST (03:30 GMT)

Match Start Time: 09:30 IST (04:00 GMT)

Match Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Head to Head

Matches played: 45, India: 21, Sri Lanka: 7, Draw: 17

Venue and conditions

This ground has been a hunting ground for batsmen in first two innings as the average of 1st innings is 362, 2nd innings 314, 3rd innings 214 and 4th innings is 181. So  batting is easy on the first two days and assists pace. Once the cracks develop, we will see the spinners dominate the proceedings.

India has played  23 Tests here , winning 8, losing 6 and drawing 9.

There is little chance of rain for a short duration but the pink ball will do damage so even four days of match time is enough to ensure result.

Toss 

Whichever team will win the toss will choose to bat as on 9  occasions the team batting first has ensured victory. The teams at any cost would like to avoid batting on the 4th or 5th day.

Teams

India

Everyone did a wonderful job in the first match except Jayant Yadav, who was given a lot of bowling at the expense of Jadeja. So he will be replaced by Axar as he was brilliant against England in the pink ball Test at Ahmedabad. His swerve and accuracy eclipsed Ashwin. I feel pity for Siraj as he deserves to be in the team.

Srilanka 

Dushmantha Chameera is likely to replace the injured Laura and this will add a bite to their bowling. Pacer Lakmal should stay as his movement will be pronounced owing to the pink ball.

They should add a spinner like Praveen Jayawickrama to augment spin. Dimuth Karunaratne is a much better  batsman and Sri Lanka needs his trademark patient and calculated innings to save the match.

Probable playing Xl

India (IND): Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuman Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Axar Patel

Sri Lanka (SL): Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Lahiru Thirimanne, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando, Lasith Embuldeniya, Dushmantha Chameera

Verdict

If India bats first then they are likely to score 400+, Sri Lanka would find it tough to go past the 300 mark given the in-form bowling unit of India.

If Sri Lanka bats first then they will score around 300, but India is likely to score a huge total in the first innings like that in the 1st Test and ensure Victory. In this match I expect Virat Kohli to play a great innings.

Cricwizz predicts India to win the 2nd Test and win the series, 2-0.

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