This is not being treated as a high-profile series, but it has the potential to throw up some really good cricket – especially if Sri Lanka’s spinners can deliver
Big picture
Just look at Sri Lanka’s schedule: one Sunday they are playing a T20I in Melbourne, by the next Sunday they have completed a three-T20I series in India, and the following Sunday will be the third day of a Test. India are no less busy: at one point last year, they had two international teams in action at the same time.
Sri Lanka’s attack will be Suranga Lakmal, two specialist spinners, Dhanajaya de Silva and an extra specialist seamer or spinner based on the conditions. They will have to threaten India’s 20 wickets to make this series exciting.
Form guide
India LLWWD (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWWDD
In the spotlight
Team news
India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Shubman Gill/Hanuma Vihari/ Shreyas Iyer, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Gill/ Vihari/ Iyer, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Jayant Yadav/ Kuldeep Yadav/ Saurabh Kumar 10 Mohammed Siraj/ Mohammed Shami/ Umesh Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Kusal Mendis is back in the squad but not for for this Test. Dushmantha Chameera is being saved for the day-night Test in Bangalore. Niroshan Dickwella is back, though, and will get the wicketkeeping gloves. That leaves Dinesh Chandimal competing with offspinning allrounder Charith Asalanka for a batting spot. With six of India’s top eight being right-hand batters, Sri Lanka could go with both left-arm spinners and Dhananjaya de Silva turning it the other way. They are also believed to be considering three fast bowlers.
Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt.), 2 Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Pathum Nissanka, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dhananjaya de Silva, 6 Dinesh Chandimal/ Charith Asalanka, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Suranga Lakmal, 9 Lasith Embuldeniya, 10 Praveen Jayawickrama/ Vishewa Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara
Pitch and conditions
Rohit Sharma said the pitch was a typical Mohali one: on the drier side and expected to take turn as the match goes on. “It will turn for sure,” Rohit said. “I can’t say if it will start to do so on day one or day four or whenever, but it will turn.”
It is spring in Punjab, and the weather will be pleasant with cool mornings and warm afternoons. There is no rain expected during the Test.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
“The [upcoming] nine Test matches [to complete India’s WTC cycle] are going to be important. I feel like we need to win almost every game. It is going to be challenging, there will be a lot of pressure, but that is where you will build a lot of character. You will see some champion cricketers coming out from this situation. If you thrive under pressure, you turn out to be a solid cricketer for the future. At the moment it is important that we try and stay in the present and think what we can do in this Mohali Test and then move forward from there.”India captain Rohit Sharma
“We’ve never won in India before, so the pressure is on India to not let a match slip. Our job is to use that pressure to our advantage.”Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo