Old warhorses look to shine

India begin their three-Test series at a venue where they have suffered their worst loss against Sri Lanka; the last time these two sides played at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, India were trounced by an innings and 77 runs. Sri Lanka have won just three of their 26 Tests against India but won the previous home series against the same opponents 2-1. They have fared much better against India at home, with just two losses in 12 Tests, and one series defeat in 1993. India have won ten Tests in all, six of them by an innings margin. One in two Tests has produced a result, and the results have mostly been one-sided - the smallest margin of victory has been by 149 (in terms of runs) and seven (in terms of wickets). (Click here for results of previous Tests between the two teams.)

Sri Lanka also possess a formidable record at the SSC, with 15 wins and six losses in 30 Tests. Starting with the win against India in 2001, they have won 11 out of the last 13 Tests at the SSC, with just one loss - to Australia. They have also won 12 of their last 15 home series.

The focus ahead of the Test series between India and Sri Lanka has been on Sachin Tendulkar and Ajantha Mendis. The former, heading into his 148th Test, needs 172 runs to become the leading run-scorer; the latter, on the verge of his Test debut, has managed to hog the headlines more than two bowlers with over 600 Tests wickets, and another two with over 250.

If Tendulkar's past form in Sri Lanka is any indication, he will reach the record sooner rather than later: he averages 111.66, with four hundreds and two fifties in eight innings. Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly have also done well against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka will miss Sanath Jayasuriya at the top of the order. He averages 67 in ten Tests against India, including the 340 in 1997 in Colombo (Premadasa Stadium). Their batting will revolve around Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who have impressive records against India at home, averaging 78.37 and 65.33. Jayawardene also has over 2000 runs at the SSC, a record for most runs by a batsman at a single ground.

The Indian batsmen have negotiated Muttiah Muralitharan fairly well over the years, but 39 of his 67 wickets against them have come in the last six Tests between the two, at an average of 24.10. Chaminda Vaas has struggled against India, going for more than 40 per wicket. Both, though, have formidable records at the SSC.

Anil Kumble, India's captain, is also their leading wicket-taker against this opposition, with 66 scalps at 28.92. However, he would want to improve on his record in Sri Lanka, which was not helped by his figures of 1 for 223 when Jayasuriya scored 340. Harbhajan Singh has also struggled in Sri Lanka.

Kumble might also not mind losing the toss at the SSC: the team winning the toss has lost 14 out of 30 Tests, with just seven victories. The side batting first has also not done too well, winning eight and losing 13. Winning the toss and batting first is surely not the way at the SSC: it has resulted in just five wins, and 11 defeats in 20 Tests.