Two of Test cricket's three leading wicket-takers will square off against each other; their support cast too isn't to be trifled at.

With 735 heads in his bag, Muttiah Muralitharan sits on top of the Test wicket charts. Indian skipper Anil Kumble, third in the pecking order behind Shane Warne, is the second most prolific of active bowlers with 608 sticks. For company, Kumble will have Harbahajan Singh, 275 and counting. That makes for an astonishing 1618 Test victims, all teased, tormented and invited to their doom by a beguiling mix of the off-spinner, the 'doosra', the leg-break, the googly, the flipper, the faster, straighter one, et al.

And to think that the fourth complement of the spinning wheel, all of eight one-day internationals young and still awaiting his Test debut, is reputed to possess all these variations, and more! Not since Sachin Tendulkar, one woud imagine, has a potential Test debut invited such hype and anticipation. Ajantha Mendis isn't a consistently proven performer yet, but already, he has caught the imagination of the cricketing world with his exploits at the Asia Cup, and particularly in the final against India.

Fledgling career

While the 23-year-old Armyman will undoubtedly face the toughest challenge of his fledgling career against inarguably the best players of the turning ball, his more established and illustrious spinning mates will not have things all their own way, either. Like their Indian counterparts, the Sri Lankan batsmen too are excellent against spin, both sets relying on the use of their feet to get to the pitch of the ball and meet it on the bounce. Quality spin against twinkle-toed batsmen -- a fascinating prospect!

If nothing else, this series will proclaim loudly that spin is far from a dead, or even dying, craft. Admittedly, both Kumble and Muralitharan are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, but they are far from done. With the passage of time, they have added subtle variations, always staying one step ahead of the opposition. Despite the shortening of boundaries and the vastly improved meaty bats that propel even mishits way beyond the ropes, they have more than held their own, reiterating the widely-acknowledged truism that good spinners are like good wine -- they get better with age.

One of the main reasons Sri Lankan have lost just one of their last 16 home Tests since August 2004 has been Muralitharan's prolific ways on home patch. A good 60 percent of his wickets have been garnered on the spin-responsive pitches in Colombo, Galle and his hometown Kandy, and more often than not, he has had to plough a lone spinning furrow. Now that he is expected to have the relatively untested but hugely exciting Mendis for company, he will be even more dangerous, especially if his pride is stung at another Lankan spinner hogging the limelight.

Preferring tweakers

"I always loved to play spinners in my side, I forever encouraged them," said former skipper and current Sri Lankan Board president Arjuna Ranatunaga, under whom Murali's career took off. "I remember games where I played one fast bowler and three or four spinners. Spinners have a different way of getting wickets. I preferred conceding runs and taking wickets." India has a long history of illustrious spinners, and while the cupboard might appear a touch barren, there has been no greater purveyor of spin than Kumble. At 37, he is as hungry and enthusiastic as ever, always plotting and probing. His variations in pace, angles, trajectory and the direction of turn make him a potent mix, and he and Harbhajan have scripted many a famous Indian win.

It won't be all spin, given the proficiency of both batting units against the turning ball and the wealth of new-ball riches; that said, batsmen from both sides will be aware that if they can get through this spinning test unscathed, they will have enhanced their reputations no end. Until then, the Lankans will believe that if Murali don't get you, Ajantha will. Just as the Indians will assert, if Kumble don't get you, Harbhajan will!