NAGPUR, NOV 25: If the Indian and Sri Lankan skippers are to be believed, the second Test here will be a `sporting' encounter.

Both the captains announced that they are not under any pressure and would like to go for the kill because this Test presents an opportunity to go one-up in the three-match series.

Sri Lanka leader Arjuna Ranatunga wished to put the past behind -- specially the first drawn tie at Mohali, where the Emerald Islanders were accused of using negative tactics. ``What we did at Mohali was right. If the critics blame us for the tactics we thought were beneficial to us, I have nothing to say. It suited us,'' he remarked after the teams underwent a training session at the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground here.

The Lankan skipper said they are here to win the series. ``It will be an achievement for us. We have four players who have been playing Test cricket for the last ten years and there are few more experienced men, who will help us to trouble the opposition.''

Ranatunga admitted he was short of bowlers. ``I don't have brilliant bowlers. But whatever they produce is quite satisfactory,'' he added and hoped that the Nagpur track, which according to him ``appears to be a slow turner'', would certainly benefit his spinners. And that's why he would like to have an additional spinner for this tie.

The Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar brushed off the charge of playing `over defensive' in the last Test saying: ``Its fair enough to play defensive in a Test match. People always find faults with us when our plans do not click. There would have been no criticism had we won that game.

``I always believe in playing positive and an attacking game. The situation in Mohali, when we needed to accelerate the run-rate, was a different one. The Lankans were applying negative strategies and it became very hard to go for runs. And it was not a right chance to venture. Still, we batted well,'' he opined.

Tendulkar hoped the second Test will be a better match. ``The pitch is still wet and we will have to wait till tomorrow morning to finalise the final eleven. If the pitch gets dry and we win the toss, we will decide to bat first,'' he said and added there will be no change in the batting order. ``The game here is crucial and we will try our best to win it.''

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.