India Can Be Best of the Rest in Sri Lanka

By Philip Oliver

Australia seem to consider India as their closest rivals, especially on home soil. Geographical rivalry with New Zealand has rarely been matched by competitiveness on the field and South Africa have been unable to channel thier animosity towards their southern hemisphere rivals into good performances. England's Ashes win of 2005 was a distant memory during their 5-0 whitewash in 2006/07.

India pushed Australia close in the recent ill-tempered series between the two, when the hosts' 2-1 victory did not reflect the parity of the teams. They should have repeated the creditable 1-1 draw of 2003/04 but for a second innings collapse in the second Test at Sydney. No other team has produced such consistently strong performances in Australia, the toughest tour.

Australia's supremacy is based on their ability to win against all countries in all conditions and India must strive for similar consistency. They have gone some way to curing their traditional travel sickness, winning recent series in West Indies and England, but have failed to win contests at home that would have elevated them to a level above their rivals.

Three match home series with England in 2006 and South Africa earlier this year were perfect opportunities to claim second place in the world rankings with authority, but 1-1 draws left us wondering whether India could win when the pressure was on at home.

They now have the chance to prove themselves on the toughest tour after Australia, as Sri Lanka are a fearsome proposition on home soil. They produce wickets that Muttiah Muralitharan can thrive on and can rely on the in-form Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene for big runs. They have lost only one of their last 16 home Tests, winning series against South Africa (twice) and England along the way.

India's task is made more difficult by the absence of the resting MS Dhoni, who is perhaps keeping an eye on future assignments with Australia, England and Pakistan. Sri Lanka is the perfect preparation for the three series that they most want to win; victory in all of those forthcoming series would see them challenge Australia for the number one ranking. They will make do with number two for now.