The buildup to this two-Test series has almost looked like Sri Lanka are here just to provide an opposition for Virat Kohli to play his 100th Test. They are admittedly not even half the side they were a decade ago, they have slipped to No 7 in the ICC Test rankings, and they have never won a Test match in 20 attempts in India.
But the last time they were here, in late 2017, Sri Lanka drew two of the three Tests. They gave India a scare in the series opener at Eden Gardens, where they dismissed the hosts for 172 and took a 122-run first-innings lead.
They are unbeaten in their previous six Tests, although those have come against West Indies and Bangladesh. Before that, they had lost four successive Tests to South Africa and England. While they have undeniable promise, as evidenced in the series win in South Africa in early 2019, competing consistently against bigger opponents has been an issue for Sri Lanka of late.
In Mohali and Bengaluru, they will be led by the veteran opener Dimuth Karunaratne. On a Colombo turner in 2017, the left-hander had struck a second-innings 141 in a six-hour effort against R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Indian Express
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