July 29, 2008	Tuesday	Rajab 25, 1429

GALLE (Sri Lanka), July 28: Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has said India are confident of overcoming Sri Lanka’s spin challenge in the second Test starting here on Thursday.

Sri Lankan spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis shared 19 wickets in the opening Test of the three-match series to help their side win by a huge margin of an innings and 239 runs in Colombo on Saturday.

“The guys have enough talent and they have played enough Tests. Everyone must have analysed his game and learned from mistakes. We are going to put up a much better show and try to win the Test,” Gambhir told reporters on Monday.

“It was just one of those bad Tests for us. There are two more matches to go and the guys are really positive. What has happened is history. You cannot do anything about it and we need to think we can beat Sri Lanka,” Gambhir insisted.

“With the kind of batting and bowling we have, we can win the series.”

Gambhir said the batsmen needed to be more positive against the Sri Lankan spin duo, who looked virtually unplayable in Colombo. India managed just 223 in the first innings and 138 in the second.“Murali is a legend,” stated Gambhir, who has scored 774 runs in 15 Tests.

“Both are quality spinners and we need to bat more patiently. They were hardly giving you loose deliveries. It is a great challenge for us, but as we all know, Indians play spin bowling very well.

“I think he (Mendis) bowled pretty well, but it’s not that he is unplayable,” he said.—AFP