The second game of the Zimbabwe tri-series will be played between India and Sri Lanka at Bulawayo. And if the Indian performance in their first game against Zimbabwe is anything to go by then they will need to improve by leaps and bounds if they have to make a match out of it. >
India lost their first game to Zimbabwe, and the bowling was a big cause behind that. The fast bowlers struggled to come to grips with the track, and the Zimbabwean batsmen did well to see through the overs of Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja, to begin with before teeing off against the quicker bowlers. >
I do not see too many changes in the batting order, but I get a sense that India may need to think of chasing the total instead of batting first, given that the track is more difficult to bat on first. The Indians almost struggled at the top of the order, but the batting became much easier later as the pitch eased out and that should make Suresh Raina sit up and take notice.
Sri Lanka also has a young team as they have rested Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Muthiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya but they look far stronger in their bowling than India. This should give them the edge and they would have also noticed the chinks that the bowling had shown. One can be rest assured that Tillakaratne Dilshan, the captain, and the out of form batsman will look to use this attack to his advantage and to get back amongst the runs.
What will be interesting to see is whether the Indians approach the game any differently from their previous one. Given that they would have acclimatized themselves to the conditions, they will also understand more than Sri Lanka, what is good for them, and what is not, and that should allow them that teeny weeny advantage.
To me, Sri Lanka, with their reasonable batting and a better bowling, will go into the game as favourites, with Stan James offering 9/10 for their win. Bodog gives 11/10 for India to be able to win the game and make a comeback into the tournament, which should make it more interesting for everyone!


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