Asia Cup: Sri Lankans adopt turn and pounce policy against India

Mahela Jayawardene

Tuesday's spinning track at the R Premadasa Stadium, where India took on Sri Lanka, could well have been prepared on the suggestion of Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene, who is an advisor to the Sri Lankan board.

Kiran More, the former India chief selector and wicketkeeping coach of the Mumbai Indians, said: "If you look at the performance of Team India's batsmen for some time, they are a bit suspect against spinners. Mahela is well aware of the batting style of all Indian batsmen having worked with top players like Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah at Mumbai Indians. He knows they strengths and weaknesses." According to insiders, the curator was hence keen on preparing a turner.

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Last year's Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka are under pressure to defend their title at home. A victory in this tournament will provide them a big confidence boost for next month's World Cup in India and it shouldn't be forgotten that the 1996 winners were finalists in 2007 and 2011.