"There is talk of our middle order not doing well, but we are still winning. Imagine what will happen if our middle order also clicks," skipper Anil Kumble confided in a friend yesterday. For all the talk of his top batsmen letting the team down, the skipper is not overtly concerned.
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are yet to play to their potential so far in the series, and it is for this reason that the skipper is upbeat about the third Test.
He believes they are too good to stay dormant for three Tests in a row, which means a run-explosion at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium from Friday.
Big signs
Tendulkar has not got the runs, but he has been hitting the ball well. It is more a case of converting the good starts. All signs point out to a big one here.
Ganguly looked ill at ease at the crease in the second Test, but the main threat from this Lankan attack is from the spinners and given his record against tweakers, the team management considers his failures as minor hiccups.
All eyes, however, are on Dravid. He has been India's marquee batsman in Tests and his recent lean run has been difficult to figure out. Facing Ajantha Mendis has been a nightmarish experience for him in the first three innings.
But, like all champion batsmen, he has come out fighting. Mendis does not hold the same fear anymore for him, believes his coach Gary Kirsten. He showed a lot of signs of overcoming the ghosts in the second innings of the second Test at Galle.
Dravid's brief knock had a calm assurance about it. And, that is when he is most dangerous. There were no signs of nerves of an out-of-form batsman. The thinking was clear and Mendis' missiles were dealt with confidence. There was no nervous jabbing at the skidder and the loose deliveries were punished with authority.
Great improvement
"When you see that a player with massive Test experience like Dravid, who has played over 120 Test matches, is having a problem with a player, you know that he will work it out. And you saw how there was a great improvement in how Dravid played in the second Test. That's because he has worked it out. I am very excited about how he will be playing in the next Test match," said Kirsten before leaving for South Africa to be at the side of his ill mother.
Ideal wicket
Kirsten said the Indian middle order had proven players and they can't be judged on the basis of a couple of failures.
"Let's remember that there are massive variables in this game of cricket that you can get out at any time in any way and that's the reason you have players averaging 40 and 50 in cricket. In case they have worked it all out, they will be averaging 90 and 100," added Kirsten.
The P Saravanamuttu Stadium wicket is rated as the best surface in Lanka. It has something for everyone an ideal wicket for India's hungry stalwarts to end their run drought.
