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Sunday, July 18, 2010

IND-SRI TEST SERIES - FIRST TEST



DAY - 1


Finally, it was cricket time after all the hype of Muralidaran's retirement surrounding this test match.Sri Lanka will feel content and happy after their incredible batting performance on the opening day.Sangakkara, rightly, decided to bat first on a pitch which has always been partial against chasing teams.Indian medium pacers were expected to exploit the moist conditions and make early inroads. Ishant Sharma ,who opened the attack for India, was despondent and infuriating.Barring a couple of deliveries, he presented the Sri Lankan batsmen with gifts they willingly accepted.He simply bowled rubbish and his no ball problem must be giving the Indian captain a headache.Ishant should still feel lucky to return with an economy rate of 5.64 at the end of day's play as the situation could have been far shoddier had Dilshan, who looked to be off color, capitalized on the garbage he had to offer.

In stark contrast to his senior partner, debutant Abhimanyu Mithun bowled superb line and lengths.Neither does he has the accuracy of Glenn Mc Grath nor the speeds of Brett Lee or Shane Bond, but he bowled a nagging line that gave Paranavitana plenty to think about.He got Dilshan with a splendid bouncer that surprised Dilshan completely.But Indians failed to make the most of the break as their was no support from the other end.With Harbhajan suffering from an injury that hassled him throughout the day, Sri Lankans kept the Indian bowling completely at bay.Pragyan Ojha was ordinary as usual and was negated by the Sri Lankan batsmen with the utmost ease.He hardly looked threatening and consistently offered freebies to the batsmen.

In the absence of a genuine all-rounder and Harbhajan struggling for fitness , India had to depend on the likes of Sehwag and Yuvraj.Sehwag was given the bowl and was extremely lucky to get the wicket of a settled and ominous looking Sangakkara.The bowl was one of the worst he delivered today and Sangakkara failed to deposit it over the ropes.Paranavitana was beaten quite a few times and didn't look to be at ease throughout his innings.He had a century to his name by the end of the day but it certainly was not one of the best.On the other hand, Sangakkara looked comforable and played a fantastic knock, though he was given a second life by Dhoni, who spilled an easy chance off Sehwag's bowling.With Jayawardene, who has proved to be India's nemesis more often than not, at the crease and Samaraweera and Mathews to follow, Sri anka shall be eying a total in excess of 500, provided the weather does not play the spoilsport as it did today.This match certainly seems to be headed for a draw or a possible Sri Lankan victory as Indian bowling seems incapable of getting 20 Sri Lankan wickets.The pitch is looking beautiful to bat on and India seem to be having a long second day on the field unless something miraculous is in store for us.Weather permitting the entire match to be played,for now,the wish of the Sri Lankan cricket fans to bid Murali a grand farewell by winning this test match is certainly on.

DAY - 2

Weather made its presence felt as the complete day's play was washed out.Hopes for a result have been diminished further and the match seems to be headed for a tame draw.Sri Lankans, Muralidaran in particular, shall have there fingers crossed, hoping for sunshine tomorrow.Indian batsmen, on the other hand, will breathe more freely as the pressure, if any, to save the test match should be off now.


DAY - 3 (SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN THE UPDATE FOLKS!! TECHNICAL ISSUES)

After a grim second day, the sun shone down at the Galle as the battle between the asian cricketing giants resumed.First ball of the day from Mithun to Paranavitana gave an indication that great application shall be needed from batsmen to stay at the wicket.The biggest relief for the Indian team shall be to see Ishant back in some form.Though the conditions were certainly favoring the bowlers,yet Ishant bowled with a venom unseen in the recent past.He was stupendous with his lines and lengths and bowled regularly in the corridor of uncertainity, a line that gave Ricky Ponting some sleepless nights.Mithun looks to be a good bowler, the inswinger being his stock ball.It remains to be seen how long he can continue with the good work.He needs to improve on his consistency with line and length.Rahul Dravid, one of the best slip fielder ever the game has seen, dropped a regulation catch off Mithun's bowling, though it hardly proved costly.There have certainly been a few instances in the recent past where Dravid has made a mess of simple offerings and he would certainly know that.Dhoni removed the fast bowlers just when they were looking menacing but it was a good decision as the new ball was due soon and India,sans the luxury (perhaps,a necessity in the modern game) of a fast bowling allrounder, had to give rest to the two pacers.Harbhajan looked far more comfortable and reassuring than he looked on the first day. He slowed things down beautifully, tossing the ball up and inticing the batsmen regularly.Ojha is ceratinly not a test bowler.He is simply unable to hassle the batsmen and looks completely ordinary.Murali Kartik, who has been doing well in county, may well be a better option.

A rare mistake, one which may have a huge impact in the eventual outcome of the game, was made by Dhoni after lunch by not introducing an in form Ishant straight away.He brought him back just for one over and then Ojha was given the bowl, which was poor on Dhoni's behalf.Jayawardene, the keeper, hardly looks capable to play test cricket.He is impatient against the spinners and looks commonplace against fast bowling. To be fair to him, Sri Lanka might have been looking for quick runs, hoping for a result in their favor and hence,he went after the bowling.Herath and Malinga were certainly not in the mood to fiddle around for sure.They took the attack to the Indian bowlers.Indians should consider themselves unfortunate not to get these two out early as there were many plays and misses along with a few edges and might have dearly missed Kumble,who was known to run through the tail quickly.For Sri Lanka, the duo proved to be lucky as Sri Lankans needed quick runs and thats exactly what they got.Herath did play some brilliant shots on the dollies Ojha and Sehwag had to offer him.Thankfully,Dhoni removed Ojha from the other, a move that resulted in immediate results.

Great sportsman spirit was shown by the Indians, who formed a guard of honour for Murali as he came out to bat.Unlike Glenn McGrath, who improved his batting at the fag end of his career, Murali showed he had hardly tried to weild the handle as once again, his own style of batting was on display.Sangakkara should have declared earlier considering the weather, giving his bowlers more time to get the famous Indian batting line up in a spot of bother.He decided to play it safe, perhaps too safe, and the onus was on the Indian batsmen to end the game with a comfortable draw.This was not to be the case as they decided to give viewers their money's worth by making the game more interesting than it was expected to be.Gambhir fell to a shot he plays extremely well and might consider himself unlucky.Rahul Dravid looked to be at his defensive best.But, just like his slip fielding, his running judgement seems to have cheated him.There have been far more incidences of him being involved in run-outs recently, something he is expected to work on.
The second biggest positive for India, after Ishant's form, was the restraint and application Sehwag showed at the crease.Given his patience levels,it was nice to see fewer blood rushes and more diligence from him.He saw through the hostile Malinga, who was exceptional,fast,furious,intimidating and at his menacing best to say the least.Sangakkara made his presence felt as he introduced Herath ahead of Muralidaran, though the former did not disappoint, and removed Malinga from the attack.Sehwag and Sachin looked to dominate Muralidaran once he was on, which is an excellent ploy against Murali under normal circumstances but given the situation and the history of the pitch, a bit more discreet shot selection was required.Tendulkar fell for this and this left India in a precarious position.
Laxman was beaten quite a few times by Murali and the onus shall be on him,Sehwag and Dhoni to avoid the follow on.

DAY - 4


Sangakkara was back at his captaincy best from the word go!Opening with Mathews and Welegedera is logical only in Sangakkara's book.Then, he started mixing the bowlers as if to count how many support bowlers he had to Malinga and Muralidaran! Neither of the two premium bowlers started the proceedings which was inexplicable.And as if Sangakkara wanted to completely stamp his authority on the match, he introduced Dilshan ahead of Muralidaran!The bowling changes were such it looked like Sangakkara had a problem remembering the guy bowling at the other end!He should certainly be thankful to his lucky stars as Sehwag was very unfortunate to be out off a poor delivery from Welegedera, who has done nothing worth in this match to earn a wicket. Under the circumstances, better shot selection was expected off Laxman, who left India stranded in the middle.Yuvraj played his shots irrespective of the situation and that how he has been playing test cricket barring a couple of good, patient knocks.Atleast having someone like Rohit Sharma, who is sound technically (though suffers from the habit of gifting his wicket away to lazy shots) instead of a Suresh Raina or a Yuvraj, who is struggling for form and fitness,would have made more sense.

To Sangakkara's credit, he remembered Murali was in the team and finally,decided to give him the bowl!Muralidaran bowled short stuff regularly but took the vital wicket of Dhoni with a beautiful delivery.Yuvraj was also done in by Murali who then bamboozled the tailenders.Harbhajan needs to reset his ambitions.It was a poor and grotesque shot under the circumstances for someone dreaming of a test hundred.If he plays like this,he has a long way to go before he realizes this dream.The Indian innings folded in mere 65 overs and a better performance was expected in the second innings.

Gautam Gambhir,known to perform under such situations, failed to deliver this time around.He fell to an unnecessary prod outside off stump and has certainly lost his touch of previous year.Sangakkara was adamant to make an impact to the game as he continued with Welegedera and his rubbish stuff.He introduced Herath instead of Welegedera only to bring him back from the other end, removing Malinga!Malinga was majestic in his performance and only one word could strike your mind while watching him- Wow!He bowled with purpose,giving his all,was a delight to watch and luckily for Sehwag,got him off a no ball.Sehwag exhibited better shot selection by his hugely high standards, though, he once again fell to Welegedera playing a shot away from his body with Jayawardene pulling off a brilliant catch.The first thing that struck you when Muralidaran was introduced into the attack was the number of overs bowled.In both the innings,Muralidaran was introduced just after the 16th over,which leads to a speculation of Sangakkara or Muralidaran being superstitious.
Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar-The two names,already written in golden letters in the Indian cricket history,were once again,in the middle trying to save the match for their country.Dravid,arguably the best No.3 test batsmen ever, was as strong as a fort.His defence was as good as ever seen and his concentration and patience levels are a lesson for youngsters.Both the legends,who define the essence of test cricket and have a penchant to enchant viewers with their imperial batting , were at their best and a joy to watch.Such sites shall certainly be missed in the coming days.They negated Muralidaran extremely well and were hardly beaten in thier innings.On the way,Dravid became the holder of a unique record of having faced more balls than anyone in test cricket!Also, he became the second(first technically correct!)batsman to reach the 9000 runs mark at No.3 position in test cricket.The battle between the three cricketers,holders of all significant test records barring Bradman's average, was fascinating to watch.

Sangakkara returned to offer more,if he possibly could!He had only two catching men to Dravid off Murali.With India under fire and the batsmen looking to play out time,he should certainly have attacked more.Matthews started the proceedings after tea which was a shame.Perhaps Malinga was not living upto his captain's expectations of giving his 100% as he gave a 110!!Matthews was persisted with and Muralidaran was removed from the other end to introduce Dilshan!What seems to Sangakkara a great move is opposition captain's delight! Then,if he could possibly dish out more,he continued with Dilshan at one end,bringing in Herath at the other.To keep Malinga out of attack for so long was a big mistake.

The move of the day and perhaps of the match by Sangakkara to bring Malinga on produced immediate results.Malinga was outstanding and hostile.His performance has been unbelievable throughout this test match.He got both the big guns to give Sri Lanka a huge advantage at the end of day's play.Laxman has failed to read Muraidaran throughout this match.Yuvraj was once again done in by Murali.He has certainly harnessed his talents lesser to play well against the likes of Murali consistently.It shall certainly require a very very special(VVS) effort from India to save this test match.The onus,now, is on Laxman and Dhoni,an obscure combination!Whereas Laxman is an artist with the bat, his elegance and classical batting a treat to watch, Dhoni is someone who does not believe in the text book style of batting and yet is highly effective.India shall certainly be hoping for rain to interrupt play while Sri Lankan fans shall be optimistic of a victory and back Muralidaran to take a couple of wickets.

DAY - 5

India started the last day starring down at defeat and hoping against hope for a miraculous performance by their skipper and VVS Laxman.Sangakkara, thankfully, attacked right from the word go and introduced Malinga first up.Malinga continued his menacing ways and the match was as good as over,weather permitting,when he got Dhoni in his very first over.Harbhajan was,once again, a big disappointment as far as his batting is concerned.A test match is like a fermented food product; one has to wait before the efforts result in a delicious delicacy!
Getting runs was as significant as staying at the crease but the shot selection Harbhajan displayed against Muralidaran was simply abominable to say the least.As expected, he became Murali's 799th victim.Sometimes,cricket seems to be the least understood game by none other than cricketers themselves!!VVS Laxman, a player who shall be remembered for his artistry and elegance, took a single off the first ball of 65th over,leaving the difficult task of facing Malinga to Mithun.Mithun just about survived and Sangakkara offered India with some relief as he took Malinga out of the attack,perhaps,to make it easier for Murali to reach the 800 wickets landmark and hence, was for once,justified given the strong condition Sri Lanka were in.

Laxman continued to bat mindlessly as singles were taken regularly between the first three bowls and hardly any of the last delivery by him.Mithun did exceedingly well to play out Muralidaran, though he did take some risks.For some time, Laxman looked to be the tailender as Mithun took most of the strike, especially to Murali!He looks to be a fine option to be considered as a bowling all-rounder, provided he contionusly works at mantaining and improving his bowling and patience standards.Finally, India faced the results of Laxman's brainless batting as he exposed Mithun to Malinga as he could just face one delivery or perhaps, missile!
Laxman continued his voyage to make this match historic by giving Muralidaran ample chances to get his 8ooth wicket,now exposing Ishant to the old warhorse.Perhaps,the team management or the skipper could have sent in a message so as to remind Laxman of his prowess as a batsman.Sangakkara was also obdurate on leaving no stone unturned to stretch this match as long as possible as having a long on to Ishant Sharma suggests.Also,in his eyes,Malinga is not capable of bowling more than four overs at a strecth! Welegedera was handed the bowl after lunch to fecilitate Murali at the other end to find that one more delivery fatal for the batsman.


Even after lunch, Laxman continued to take singles of the first ball of the over which shows the lack of apllication on his part and the lack of interest in the game on part of the coach and the skipper.After all,what are coaches for?? Kirsten should have talked about this with Laxman and perhaps,Dhoni and the senior members like Sachin or Dravid too could have a word with him.
On the other end,Sangakkara continued to puzzle the pundits by just having two close in fielders while Ishant was on strike facing Muralidaran.Wasn't Mainga not given a bowl to help Murali reach the historic landmark?Ah!Sangakkara is in a league of his own.I am sorry to say this but finally,Laxman "the tailender" got run out and most inexplicably,Malinga was introduced into the attack as if Sangakkara wanted to show his commitment to the team's cause after a whole day of favoring Muralidaran.Malinga continued to bowl with venom.Professionally speaking,thats the way to go but morally speaking and considering the situation,Welegedera could have continued from the other end.After all, throughout the morning,Malinga was hardly given a substantial spell.Sangakkara hardly seizes to amaze and once again, nonsensically and illogically, he removed Malinga after just one over.And even more bizzare was still having just two fielders round the bat,even when Murali was bowling! And as if to show his class as a captain, he had three close infielders for Ojha! Oh dear!Well, no more of Sangakkara rubbish shall be mentioned now folks!!Ishant Sharma looks a far better blocker than a bowler these days.If he can mantain some consistency in his bowling, he can prove to be one of the best blockers alongside Hoggard and Gillispie.

Finally,the wait was over.It was,perhaps,the most dramatic ending after Bradman's and one which ended on a positive note.Muralidaran got the 800th wicket, the last wicket of the Indian innings!Personally, i have never been a great fan of Muralidaran.Perhaps, it was for his good and generous attitude and his mental strength to be able to face all the controversies about his action and move on with a smile on his face more than his cricket that fate destined such a dramatic and happy ending to his test career, signalling to the like of Ponting(who is ridiculously compared to Sachin Tendulkar) that humans with a positive frame of mind shall always have a upper hand.

Sri Lanka made short work of the chase, the highlight being the unintentional hit Harper recieved at square leg from Dilshan! Ishant failed to impress and really needs to work on his no ball problem and Brett Lee would not be a bad person to talk to and take advice from.He also needs to work on his consistency just like Mithun.It was all too easy in the end for Sri Lanka, who drubbed India by a dominant and comprehensive ten wicket win even in a rain hit match.The most disappointing aspect from India's point of view was Harbhajan's performance, even though he had fitness issues.India will take heart from the fact that the tail showed some resistance in batting,though they really need to work on their bowling as such!As for Sri Lanka,it was a fairytale ending for their hero and idol,Muralidaran.Its time for them to celebrate, to salute the one guy who made most of their victories possible and to savour the moment.

1 comment:

  1. India has retained the number one position on the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table after the annual update and is now 11 ratings points clear of South Africa. Sri Lanka slips to fifth position but can jump to second if it wins the third Test.

    England rises to fourth place and can go ahead of Australia if it beats Pakistan 3-0 or better.

    ODI update sees Australia open up 14 point gap over newly-installed second-placed India as the Netherlands becomes third Associate Member to enter the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table.

    By virtue of earning a draw in the second Test against Sri Lanka, India has also ensured that it will still be on top of the table following the conclusion of the current series irrespective of how the third Test pans out. The result of Sri Lanka and India Test series will only reflect on the table at the end of the final Test on 7 August as the Test Championship can only be updated at the end of each series.

    The annual update of both the Reliance Mobile ICC Test and ODI Championship tables take place so that both lists continue to reflect recent form with older results being discarded.

    The Test table reflects all Test series that were completed since August 2007. All series played until the start of next August will be added to this table, so by then the ratings will be based on four years of results, with series completed within the last two years carrying greater weight.

    Next August the first year of results will be dropped and this pattern is repeated each August, with the oldest of the four years of results removed to be gradually replaced with results of series completed over the following 12 months. Thus, once a year, the Test rankings change overnight without any new series being completed.

    India has hugely benefitted from the annual update as it has gained six ratings points to jump from 124 ratings points to 130, 11 ahead of its closest rival South Africa which had dropped one ratings point to 119.

    However, India’s 11-point lead at the top will be short-lived following its failure to win its current series in Sri Lanka.

    If India wins the third Test, which starts at P.Sara’ Oval, Colombo, on Tuesday 3 August to draw the series at one-all, it will drop to 127 ratings points, while Sri Lanka will move into third place on 115 rating points, ahead of both Australia and England.

    If the Test is drawn, India will slip to 124 ratings points, just five points ahead of both South Africa and Sri Lanka. However, Kumar Sangakkara’s side will be placed just below Graeme Smith’s side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

    Another defeat for India will not only see it plummet to 122 ratings points but will lift Sri Lanka to 121 ratings points and into second position on the Test Championship for only the second time since the current Test ranking system was introduced in 2003.

    Sri Lanka had previously claimed second spot on the Test Championship in late August last year following a series win over New Zealand and stayed there until it lost 2-0 to India in December.

    Australia, which fell from the top spot just after the annual update last year after losing The Ashes, has stayed in third position but has dropped from 116 ratings points to 113 ratings, just two ratings points ahead of England, which has gained one place after recording the second best ratings performance in the past 12 months behind India.

    England, which started in its four-Test series against Pakistan at Trent Bridge on Thursday, has been rewarded for its last year’s consistency by earning three ratings points which puts it on 111 ratings points.

    As England leads seventh-placed Pakistan by 27 ratings points, this gap means Andrew Strauss’s side is expected to win the series convincingly. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, failure to win will mean England will drop points.

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