India will be looking to make massive gains in their ICC World Test Championship campaign when they face Sri Lanka in their upcoming two-match Test series, starting on August 15. All valuable points are at stake for India in order for them to close the gap in the points table.
At present, India hold fifth place in the WTC standings with a points percentage of 48.15. Sri Lanka are just behind them in sixth with 41.67 percent. It’s not that India will easily be able to dominate Sri Lanka because conditions there will pose a greater challenge to Indian contingent. The wickets there are expected to offer more assistance to the seamers and later becoming more favourable to spin. India's bowling coach Morne Morkel also believes that Sri Lankan surfaces could provide a real Test challenge.
“I think coming here, our skill is there, planning is there, but the biggest challenge will be the heat, the humidity, and the Kookaburra ball going back to that, you know, once it gets softer. It's how we can stack up overs together with intensity and create that pressure. Because we haven't played a lot of red-ball cricket in the last couple of months, going back into that is going to be a challenge as well. And that’s something I am excited to see how these guys can stand up,” Morkel said while speaking to reporters.
“For us, we have prepared basically for all that can come our way. Like I said for us it’s more about the mental challenge now,” he said.
Morkel also expected KL Rahul to play a big role.
“I think KL, the last couple of years, the way he's been leading up front with the batting has been exceptional. And that's the sort of communication that we expect him to speak to the guys here in the preparation, [like] at the nets, what to expect."
“But I think our guys have learned a lot about their games individually over the last couple of months. And that's one of the reasons why we've come out here 10 days earlier, to give the guys the best opportunity to prepare and to work on their individual game plans. Just to figure out how they're going to score on the surface here,” Morkel said.