Date:24/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/24/stories/2008082456051400.htm

Sport - Cricket

Kirsten happy for youngsters

Special Correspondent

Colombo: Ahead of the third ODI against Sri Lanka, India coach Gary Kirtsen spoke of the significance of Virat Kohli and S. Badrinath’s showings in Dambulla, saying competition for places bettered a cricket side.

“I’m obviously very happy to see young players coming in and making a claim for further honours,” said Kirsten before rain stopped the optional session. “It was good to see young players feeling comfortable in the international set-up. It’s very important for Indian cricket that we have competition for places.”

No injury worries

Kirsten said the playing eleven hadn’t been finalised. Everybody was fit for selection — Gautam Gambhir had recovered, Zaheer Khan’s gingerly movements were caused by a niggle, nothing worrying — but the final combination would be decided based on the conditions on Sunday afternoon.

“They are obviously leaving a fair amount of grass on it (the wicket) now to keep it together because they have three games here,” said the former South African batsman. “We will wait till tomorrow to see what it looks like. We would like to be pretty flexible in our combinations and we will take it game by game.”

Different look

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, said the strip looked different — unlike what is expected here at the Premadasa. “It’s much firmer than it used to be here,” he said. “The ball will probably come on to the bat better, so definitely there will be more runs.”

Jayawardene said the side had placed the defeat in Dambulla in perspective. “We were disappointed the way we handled the situation there. We wanted to execute certain plans which we couldn’t, but that game has gone. It’s a different wicket, different conditions, and all the batsmen are up for that.”

Chaminda Vaas will be reassessed on Sunday, said the Sri Lankan captain. If fit, the left-armer will have the opportunity to reach 400 ODI wickets. “There’s a good chance Vaasy will play, we are just waiting on his clearance,” said Jayawardene. “Other than that we will probably play the same combination (as Dambulla),” he added.