Mohali: The first Test match between India and Sri Lanka beginning here on Friday is as much a story of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as it is about young turks stepping into the shoes of the old guards. Kohli is set to play his 100th Test match while Rohit will be captaining the Test side for the first time without the services of veterans like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, who have been the bedrock of Indian cricket for several years. All eyes will be on Kohli, who would not like to miss this historic opportunity to make it count. He has not belted a single century under his belt for over two years now. He may rearing to achieve big records in his 100th Test. Kohli needs 38 more runs to complete 8,000 runs in Test cricket and equal Ricky Ponting’s record with his 71st international century. To achieve these records, Kohli would want to do the best he can. That is to go on the offensive against the likes of Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara and Lasith Embuldeniya. The focus also is on Rohit, who is having a daunting task of handling the Indian team, which is bereft of the old guards. There is no history of how Rohit has fared in the longer version of the game but the cricketing world is aware of his skills as a white-ball captain. However, the first glimpse of his leadership skills would be weighed by looking at how he picks up a winning combination and how he manages his resources during ups and downs of a five-day match. Rohit will be keen to help India bounce back after their series loss of 2-1 against South Africa away earlier this year and improve India’s standings — now fifth — in the ICC World Test Championship. The young turks also would be in focus. Shubman Gill is expected to fill in the shoes of Pujara at No.3, which will not be an easy task, considering the stamp the old war horse has left behind. Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer would like to prove worthy of a replacement to Rahane in the middle-order slot. Iyer has had a dream start to his career by scoring a century in his debut Test match against New Zealand in Kanpur. Vihari has been a crisis man whenever India were in dire straits overseas. After a disappointing series loss against South Africa, the Indian pacers Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will be keen to strike form against the Sri Lankan batters. They failed to make any substantial mark against the Proteas in the last two Tests. The series against the Sri Lankans will be a test for them as the sub-continental pitches are as good as South African tracks. Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne would expect his batsmen and bowlers not to disappoint him as they did in the shorter version of the game. Karunaratne is banking on his spinners but the slow bowling might not work against the Indian batting attack. How well the visiting batsmen negotiate Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on a pitch that might turn will be seen. Teams (from): India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Kona Bharat (wk), Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Priyank Panchal Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Dhanajaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dushmantha Chammeera, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pathum Nssanka, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Chamika Karunaratne. UNI BDN MR
