Sri Lanka registered a remarkable victory over Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, winning the two-Test series 2-0 to buck the losing trend the team had been struggling with. They also became the first side to hand Pakistan a series defeat in UAE and yet they start their tour of India without much hope. Sri Lanka have played 17 Tests in India so far and have failed to register a single victory. They've suffered 10 losses while seven Tests have ended in draws.

Dinesh Chandimal, the Test captain, acknowledged the team is determined to do well and aren't looking at their poor record. "We have never won a Test against India in India," Chandimal said in Kolkata on Thursday (November 9). "So it's a dream to win here. It's always a pleasure to play in front of the Kolkata spectators. As I said, we need to start well as a team and we are looking forward to that."

Sri Lanka come to Indian after they were humbled by the same opponent at home. India went on to register nine consecutive wins taking the three-match Test series, five-match One-Day International series and the one-off Twenty20 International with ease. Chandimal hoped the young faces will step up this time and produce performances. "Actually, this is my first Test tour to India," he said. "Apart from Angelo (Mathews) and Rangana (Herath), all others are on their first tour to India. It's a good challenge for each and every one. We have worked really hard. Especially before coming here, we did a lot of practice back home.

"You can see new faces - Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva and also, Sadeera (Samarawickrama) - in the squad. They have a really good opportunity to play against India and perform. I am sure they will put their hand up and do their best.

"We all know India are the No. 1 team at the moment. But looking at our team, we did really well against Pakistan. I am sure the guys are looking forward to this challenge."

While Thilan Samaraweera warned against underestimating India's pacer, the focus of the team will be playing the spin duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja better. Chandimal said the team has come up with plans the counter India's threat. "At the moment, they (Ashwin and Jadeja) are No. 1 and No. 2 in the world," he pointed out. "They have bowled really well in the last couple of years. As a team, we have something up our sleeves. When we face them, we need to execute that in order to compete with the Indian team. I don't want to tell our plans in front of you guys. You can see in one week's time what plans we have against them."

Courtesy:Cricbuzz