JOIN USSkipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had spoken of the need to get away from cricket, especially for those involved in the Test series, for at least a couple of days. “It’s very important to take some time off,” Dhoni said. “We have a six-day break, which means for the first two or three days, we will need to keep ourselves away from cricket, especially the guys who were a part of the Test series. The rest of the guys, after a couple of days they can get back and do some skill sessions and get ready for the next game.”
Even if the one-day side wears a vastly different look from the Test squad, Dhoni himself, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina of the batsmen and Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun and Pragyan Ojha among the bowlers spent long hours on the park during the Test series. Given that they had only two days between the end of the last Test and the first game of the tri-series, this small break is precisely what the doctored ordered.
New Zealand, on a high after their thumping win, had an optional session on Wednesday afternoon, attended by a smattering of reserves and two relative failures of the previous day – opener Peter Ingram and debutant all-rounder Kane Williamson.
Their opponents on Friday, Sri Lanka, were out at full strength in the morning at the Rangiri Dambulla International stadium for their first training session since the Test series. It was supposed to be a non-mandatory session, but all the top guns were present, Mahela Jayawardene and skipper Kumar Sangakkara spending long minutes honing their batting skills and Lasith Malinga looking untroubled as he breathed fire.