Sri Lanka were figuring out the ideal bowling combination for the second Test against India that will get underway today here at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.

Ajantha Mendis, who stunned the Indians 15 months ago in his debut series claiming a world record 26 wickets in the three match series in Sri Lanka, is very likely to get a game, but whether that will be a straight swap for another spinner or whether the tourists will play three spin bowlers, was not certain.

The Sri Lankans trained last morning here in Green Park simultaneously with the Indians and they could pack the side with three spinners, with Mendis coming in as the third spinner behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath.

But the chilly conditions here could see them bringing in a fast bowler for Dammika Prasad, who is nursing a hamstring injury and has been ruled out of the game. In that case, Mendis is likely to get a game ahead of Herath, with Dilhara Fernando, a late replacement for the injured Thilan Thushara, making the playing 11 ahead of Nuwan Kulasekara.

"We can play three spinners if we want to, or else, we can replace Dammika Prasad with another fast bowler. We have quite a few combinations in mind, we would know for sure by evening," Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara told journalists, at the pre-match media conference.

Sri Lanka named a 13 member squad for the game, including Mendis, Kulasekara and Fernando, keeping their options open.

Opener Tillekeratne Dilshan, who broke his nose while playing football after the final day’s play in the first Test in Ahmedabad trained yesterday with the team and will play today’s game.

Indian captain M. S. Dhoni believed the track could assist bowlers more than it did in Ahmedabad and was himself looking at the option of making a few changes to his bowling combination. "The wicket looks as if there’ll be a lot more assistance for spinners and fast bowlers. But I am not sure whether the low bounce will help them and whether the ball will help reverse swing. But overall, it will be a better wicket for the bowlers," he said.

The last time a Test was played here, two years ago, it ended in three days, with India beating South Africa to square the three match series. It was the spinners who did most of the damage in that Test after the previous Test, also in Ahmedabad, had been dominated by fast bowlers.

Kanpur in fact has been hosting Test matches since 1951 and is the premier cricket ground of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. Of the 20 Tests played here, however, 12 games have ended in draws. India has won five matches, while touring teams have won three.

Sri Lanka do not have happy memories here as after posting 420 runs in the first innings, they were made to chase leather as the hosts piled up a mammoth 676 for seven in 1986, the highest total posted in this country until Sri Lanka put up 760 for seven in the last Test match in Ahmedabad.

It was in that game in 1986 that Mohammad Azharudding scored 199, while Kapil Dev made 163.

Tillekeratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavithana, Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene (wicketkeeper), Chanaka Welagedara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekara.

Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M.S. Dhoni (Captain and wicketkeeper), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Praghyan Ojah and Murali Vijay.

Umpires: Nigel Llong (Eng) and Tony Hill (NZ)

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)