Back to where it all began for Kohli's men

Cricket Sri Lanka tour : India will have happy memories of SL

 Virat Kohli returns to the country where it all began for him as the Test captain, so to say.

He had led India in MS Dhoni’s absence and after his retirement in Sydney, and in the one-off Test in Bangladesh earlier but his captaincy wares were truly tested during his first full-fledged series as the leader of a young side on the tour of Sri Lanka in 2015.

Against a side that perhaps matched the tourists in skills but held a slight advantage in terms of experience and home advantage with the likes of the great Kumar Sangakkara and the wily old fox Rangana Herath in their ranks, Kohli and company showed great resilience and resolve to rally to win the three-Test series after a shock defeat here in the first Test. That series, in a way, heralded the most successful phase for Indian cricket in the longer version that has firmly put them on top of the ICC Test rankings.

Though they have played only one series outside of sub-continent since their come-from-behind triumph in 2015 (against West Indies in 2016), the win gave them the belief in their ability to succeed away from home. Kohli even went to the extent of terming the victory as a “landmark” one just before team’s departure from Mumbai.

“That tour was start of the belief that we can win, win away from home and we have the side to win away from home. We showed more belief in our abilities and that we could win from any situation. That really turned our mindset around. From then on, you can see the results,” he reasoned.

Besides beating the Caribbeans in the only away contest (2-0), India have swept away all comers since the Lankan success two years ago; they have beaten South Africa (3-0 in 2015), New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0), Bangladesh (1-0) and Australia (2-1) in convincing manner. While the batsmen, led by Kohli himself, have turned in great performances, no two individuals have played a greater role in India’s winning run than R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Ashwin’s journey from a good bowler to a potential modern day off-spinning great began here in 2015 when he emerged the highest wicket-taker from either side with 21 scalps. The 30-year-old tweaker not only ensured India fought back to claim the series but also made sure there was no fairytale end to an otherwise great career of Sangakkara, dismissed as he was for four low scores by the bowler in his last two Tests.

As they return for a first full-fledged series, including five ODIs and a T20I, after 2008 when they played both Tests and one-dayers, Kohli and company will be overwhelming favourites to win in all three formats. Since the 2015 contest between the two sides, the fortunes of these two cricketing neighbours have moved in opposite directions. While India have grown from strength to strength, Lanka have seen steady decline since the retirement of their greats.

While there is enough promise and potential, it is yet to translate into a success for the Island nation. The defeat in the ODI series to lowly-ranked Zimbabwe at home and the narrow escape to win in the one-off Test aren’t encouraging signs as they prepare to take on the mighty Indians.

The fallout of the debacle was resignation of Angelo Mathews as skipper from all formats. With new Test captain Dinesh Chandimal (who is expected to play only from the second Test in Colombo), Lanka are looking for a new beginning and even if they put up semblance of a fight against India it could go a long way in their resurrection.

For India, under new coach Ravi Shastri, it’s about maintaining the high standards that they have set for themselves during a short and but highly successful Anil Kumble-Kohli era.