KANPUR, India, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will need Muttiah Muralitharan to rediscover his rhythm in the final test in Mumbai if they are to come back from a humbling defeat against India and square the series.
The 37-year-old Muralitharan, the world record holder for most test wickets, took only two for 175 in Kanpur as India completed victory by an innings and 144 runs to take a 1-0 lead.
His performance in the drawn first test was unremarkable too, with his three wickets costing over 73 runs apiece and skipper Kumar Sangakkara needs his star spinner in more threatening form.
“It does become a concern if he is not picking up the wickets you know he can,” Sangakkara said after India had wrapped up their win yesterday.
“But he is your star bowler and you back him to do it sooner than later.”
He added: “We’ve still got a lot of action in Mumbai. We can still square the series and that is motivation enough.”
India can replace South Africa at the top of the world rankings if they complete a 2-0 win but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has urged his players to forget the ranking and concentrate on their consistency.
“Everything went perfectly well for us,” he told reporters after India’s 100th test win.
“It (the top ranking) will be an added responsibility,” he added. “Becoming the number one side is not important. We’ve to maintain our performance level.”