Have Indian batsmen lost their skill to tackle quality spin bowling? That is the big question that has followed their crushing defeat in the first test in Colombo last week.

Their innings and 239-run defeat on a good Singhalese Sports Club ground pitch saw a line-up boasting Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman bundled out twice around four sessions of play.

Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, test cricket’s highest wickettaker, captured 11 wickets, but Indian batsmen were also clueless against debutant Ajantha Mendis, who snapped up eight with his mysterious mix of deliveries.

Indian batsmen have struggled under pressure against off spin in the past, contrasting with their command against leg break bowlers, including Shane Warne.

In Colombo, even the wristy Laxman misread the subtle googly from Mendis twice while Dravid looked even more unsure.

With the batting heavyweights towards the final stages of their careers, the concern in the Indian camp is understandable, Mendis having ripped through their younger set of batsmen in the Asia Cup final, scalping six for next to nothing.

Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar acknowledges the challenge.

“Indian cricketers have traditionally been good players of spin but that doesn’t mean the current or future generation of cricketers will continue to be so,” he said on cricket website www.cricinfo.com.

“In fact the batsmen who have been part of the side since 2002-03 have been better players of fast bowling than the batsmen in the 90s.”

Dravid says one has to be a very good player of spin to break into the national side but then the demand changes.

“When you got into the Indian team, you had to become a good player of fast bowling to survive at that level,” the Deccan Herald newspaper quoted him as saying.

“Over time, playing so much fast bowling, focussing so much on that, some of the ways in which I played spin probably changed,” he says. “I used to be a lot more positive against spin.

Are the soft hands, supple wrists and deft footwork becoming a thing of the past for India? The second test starting in Galle on Thursday should provide some answers.

India start a three-test series in Sri Lanka on Wednesday which will answer a few questions on how different will be their approach in the island where they only have a modest record.

Their confidence will come from the sheer experience among their batsmen and their consistency in tests playing abroad in the last two seasons.

However, they will have to play aggressively if they are to overcome Sri Lanka, always tough to beat at home with the slow pitches not very different from those in India.

India’s modest record in Sri Lanka, where they lost 2-1 the last time way back in 2001, will surely play in their minds.

However, they have a few things going for them.

Although wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the one-day captain and leggie Anil Kumble’s deputy in tests, has pulled out citing fatigue, the team have the personnel to step into that breach.

Dinesh Karthik, his likely replacement, is rated a better ‘keeper while Virender Sehwag, the vice-captain, is vastly experienced and will be motivated by the fact that his batting form is superb and he can show his leadership qualities to provide the selectors an extra captaincy option for the future.

Sachin Tendulkar, back after another injury layoff, will be determined to get the 172 runs that will carry him past Brian Lara’s record for most test runs.

However, the real battle could be between Sri Lanka’s formidable batsmen and the Indian bowlers.

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya (he could return from test retirement for his first test in seven months) are in splendid form.

Sri Lankan batsmen have traditionally played Kumble well and Harbhajan Singh, has the tendency to lose rhythm if he does not take an early wicket.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis, who sliced through the one-day line-up in the Asia Cup final, could be a challenge at least early on in the series, bowling in tandem with the wily Muttiah Muralitharan.

That means India, at best, may have to be content with a series draw.