GALLE, March 7: Sri Lanka will play one fast bowler and pack their bowling attack with spinners on a sun-baked Galle pitch for the first Test against Australia starting on Monday.
The grounds man has prepared a grass less, biscuit-dry surface for the first of three Tests that is expected to offer extravagant turn from the start. We are not scared of fast bowlers but we are playing to our home advantage," Tillakaratne told reporters on Sunday.
"We want to give our bowlers the best wickets they could bowl on. We will go in with one fast bowler." "We all know that Australia are the number one but all the top tests sides struggle when they come here. I am sure if we play to our potential that we can give them a good run."
By playing just one fast bowler, left-armer Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka can play seven batsmen with Thilan Samaraweera bolstering the middle order. The last time Sri Lanka played a solitary pace bowler was at the same venue against New Zealand in 1998, a match the hosts won by an innings and 16 runs.
All-rounder Tillakaratne Dilshan will open the innings with his off breaks with support from Muttiah Muralitharan, leggie Upul Chanadana, off spinner Kumar Dharmasena and slow left-arm Sanath Jayasuriya.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was not surprised by Sri Lanka tactics but believes that the preparation of such a spin-friendly pitch could backfire on the hosts.
"We expected them to go that way as Galle has always been a spinners wicket," Ponting told reporters. "The pitch is really dry - it's the only part of the ground that has not got a blade of grass on it.
Australia are likely to play just two fast bowlers and two spinners, with all rounder Andrew Symonds set to make his test debut and fast bowler Brett Lee to be given until the last minute to prove his fitness.
"It will probably be left until tomorrow morning to give him as much time as possible because he is such a vital member of the squad," Ponting said. -Reuters
