Indians train guns on Jayasuriya
The hard-hitting Sri Lankan batsman has a knack of playing long innings against India.
India need to dismiss Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya early if they hope to make a winning start to the triangular one-day series here on Saturday, says visiting captain Rahul Dravid.
"Jayasuriya is the key player as he has always done well against us in the past," Dravid said on Friday.
The hard-hitting Sri Lankan batsman has a knack of playing long innings against India. His highest scores in one-dayers (189) and Tests (340) have come against the same opponents.
Jayasuriya is now just 76 short of becoming the third batsman in the history of One-day cricket to complete 10,000 runs. Others to reach the landmark are India's Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq.
"Sri Lanka have always been tough to beat at home. Besides Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara is also batting well. And they have key bowlers in Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan," said Dravid.
Sangakkara was the lone batsman to score a century in his team's recent 2-0 Test series victory over the West Indies, third team in the tri-series.
Off-spinner Muralitharan played a big role in his team's wins, grabbing 17 wickets in two matches. But left-arm seamer Vaas is a doubtful starter for Saturday's day-night match because of a hamstring strain.
Dravid said he was not worried about his team's recent poor record in Sri Lanka, where they lost to the hosts in the Asia Cup final last year.
"We know we don't have a good record in Sri Lanka," said Dravid, leading India for the first time in a full series.
"Past is what we have to forget. It's a big challenge for us. It will be a boost for us if we start the new season on a winning note."
Dravid said the team was determined to do well despite the absence of experienced batsmen Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
"Both Sachin and Sourav are great players, but it (their absence) also gives an opportunity to youngsters to do well at this level," said Dravid.
Tendulkar has already been ruled out of the tournament following an elbow surgery, while Ganguly is serving a four-match ban for his team's slow over-rate against Pakistan in a home series in April.
Ganguly, who has already missed two games against Pakistan, will be eligible to play only after India's first two matches here.
India won both of their warm-up games before the tournament, but have yet to decide on Virender Sehwag's opening partner.
"I don't want to tell about our batting combination," Dravid said, adding he was very impressed with wicketkeeper-batsman Mahender Singh Dhoni who slammed a half-century as an opener in a practice match.
"Dhoni's work-ethics and attitude have impressed us. He can bat well under pressure in different positions and this is the kind of cricketers we are looking for. This is what makes a good one-day side," said Dravid.
Teams:
India: Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Venkatsai Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Jai Prakash Yadav, Mahender Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Laxmipathy Balaji, Suresh Raina, Venugopala Rao.
Sri Lanka: Marvan Atapattu (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Fervez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Upul Taranga, Dilhara Lokuhettige.
Umpires: Asoka de Silva (SRI) and Simon Taufel (AUS)
TV umpire: T. H. Wijewardene (SRI)
Match-referee: Mike Procter (RSA)