'India don't like being put under pressure'

Steve Waugh's Australians of 2000-01 deemed winning a Test series in India as the "final frontier" because it had been three decades since they had last won in that country. For the record, Waugh's men failed in their attempt when they lost the three-Test series 1-2. The Sri Lanka team Kumar Sangakkara led to India on the weekend also has similar ambitions. Twenty-seven years and 14 Tests have gone by and Sri Lanka are yet to win a Test in India, let alone a series.

"Not only India, but also Australia and South Africa, where we haven't won Test matches. Those are the ones we should look forward to over the next years," Sangakkara said before the team left for India on Saturday. "We can go as all our teams have done in the past and come back and say, 'Well it's still unchanged', or we go out there and give everything we've got and win the last frontier and then take confidence from that and move on to the one-day series."

The determination to win a Test match in India has been foremost in the minds of the Sri Lankan cricketers, and they have gone about their preparations to achieve that goal diligently. One indicator of how serious they are is in how they brought in about 160 SG balls (which India uses for their home series) to use at practice. "That's been an advantage going into the series," said Sangakkara.

"We tried to do a lot more skill work, specific training in the nets to play spin, specific shots for spin. That's been working for us… developing a good defence with the fast bowlers and spinners, and making a solid base getting the guys to understand how we as a team can score 350-400 runs every time we go out. The bowlers - how they can reverse swing the ball and what you can do to make the ball swing late, and learning how the ball generally behaves. We tried to change our training.

"We've just got to go there with a very strong mind, go all out. Not take a backward step but try to win. We know we are good enough to win and match India if we really want to. We've just got to be as tough as possibly as we can, both mentally and physically, if we are going to do well."

Sangakkara rated India as a very good side but mortal. "We beat them in Sri Lanka with the same side, with the exception of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. They are two extra challenges when we go there, but again those are the things you've got to accept in cricket.

"We've got to go to India with no baggage, nothing in our heads, clear minds, no complaints, and the right attitude to enjoy that country for 55 days. It's a tough country to be in for such a long time, and being away from home. We should enjoy playing ruthless, tough, competitive but fair cricket every single time - win or lose it doesn't matter."

Sangakkara said that if his team is to perform well they have to excel all round. "These are the kind of series where you've got to be on the mark all the time - bowling, batting, fielding. You've got to make half-chances work, try and get run-outs. Those things change games, especially in the Test scenario. We've got to squeeze every little advantage we can.

"But the key is to put ourselves at pressure at training and enjoy the game. If we don't put ourselves under pressure when training, we just go to games under pressure, and I don't think that's going to work for us. We've just got to do all the hard things at training; challenge ourselves to go out of our comfort zones and go into a match fully prepared and confident and just go hard at them."

Sangakkara is confident that if his side can maintain pressure for long periods of time, they can make India crack. "If they get an advantage they are very good frontrunners. What we've got to do is try and put them under pressure right from the start and make them lag behind. If we can do that and keep the pressure on them consistently, I think we can make them crack. Pressure is something they don't like. If you can be consistently aggressive, those things are going to be the difference that makes us win."

As far as mental strength goes, Sangakkara thinks Sri Lanka is right up there with the Australians. "When you look at the number of players who can do great things on the cricket field - we've got so many of them. The key is to believe in yourself and believe in the guy next to you as your team-mate and trust that guy to do the right job. That is why training is so important. The mental strength and belief you have with each other comes with the right preparation. Our guys have actually started realising it now."

The competitive streak has been a part of the Sri Lankan team from the time Arjuna Ranatunga was captain. "Our guys first understood it with Arjuna. He really made them understand that we are good enough to beat any side. One of the main reasons we won the '96 World Cup was that belief.

"When you are low on confidence you don't really think you can win, but I think our guys have to understand that winning or losing depends on that particular day; that doesn't make you a good or bad side. If you train consistently with the right attitude you will find yourself more and more becoming a side that consistently plays good cricket, cricket that's good enough to beat any side in the world. You've got to be a good team every day and the key is to win matches even when you are struggling as a team. That's the real test of the team's character."