DAY - 1
After an embarrassing loss in the first test match, India were furthur jolted by the loss of Gautam Gambhir ahead of the second test match, though, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise as Gambhir has hardly shown signs of the phenomenal form he has been in for the last couple of years. Yuvraj Singh also misses the test match and Suresh Raina gets the opportunity to make his test debut in what should be a batting paradise according to the curator and in the absence of Muralidaran and Malinga, which is a disappointment as latter was a treat to watch in the first match, Raina should be able to make merry.Yuvraj would certainly have fancied his chances against the likes of Randiv and Mendis, though, any batsman should be capable of leaving his mark in such conditions. Sri Lanka decided to have a bat, winning the toss yet again.It became clear at the start itself that the pitch might behave in a dual manner.Ishant Sharma proved to be a disappointment yet again.He hardly seems to understand the fact that short of a length bowling is not what you should be doing in batting friendly conditions where the pitch just has nothing to offer.He troubled Ponting with this line in Australia, where pitches support the bowlers putting in the efforts and, for a brief moment, hassled the Sri Lankan batsmen in the previous match, only becaus the pitch is known to possess some demons from third day onwards.He has to learn to pitch the ball up a bit, perhaps just ahead of the good length area, making the batsmen play most of the times.Else, it wont be much use getting him to play in the sub continent.Mithun bowled very well, given the conditions, after a rusty start.Dhoni, arguably, made a mistake by giving Sharma his sixth over.Perhaps,he wanted batsmen to attack Sharma and result in their own downfall, not an ideal way to approach the game but, possibly, you have no other choice with a bowling line up such as this!Ojha was introduced from the other end and he continued his ordinary stuff.Mithun had some rubbish to offer when he changed ends and Dilshan cashed upon delightfully.
India were forced to have a deep midwicket or a deep point or a sweeper cover right at the start of the innings, an indication that this pitch really is a batsmen's delight and a viewers sour.
Cricket fans would love to see far more competitive wickets.Except Ishant, no one bowled bad enough to make a test match look like a one day game! (Ojha cannot be reprimanded for his bowling;that's the best he has to offer!)To ruin the fun and to the relief of Indians, Dilshan got out off Ojha's bowling, who should consider himself extremely serendipitous to have him.What followed was a serene run of play till lunch, with Sri Lanka consolidating on the start and Indian spinners hardly looking like they could get wickets on the batting bliss.I think Dhoni did really well to start with Mithun and Sehwag, the two best bowlers so far in this test match, after lunch.
Dhoni had an inside out field, which he normally does in such circumstances.Sangakkara took chances on more than a few occasions but as a classy batsmen, one has the license to go after mediocre bowling on such a pitch.No surprises that batsmen made racket on a dull cricketing day, lightened up only by the sportsmanship and comaradie between the two camps (Dhoni and Paranavitarna had a laugh during play) and a couple of "ooohs" and "aaahs" from the Indians.
Harbhajan bowled a very wide outside off stump line, perhaps wanting to intice the batsmen into playing a false stroke to the dislike of Dhoni who removed him from the attack and introduced Sehwag who, unexpectedly, continued with the same line.Dhoni tried all his options in the quest for a wicket, giving Raina a bowl, but to no avail.The highlight for the next few overs was the superb fielding by Tendulkar and Raina and an edge, a rare site, by Sangakkara off Mithun before the two batsmen reached their centuries.To their credit, they did well to capitalize on the conditions as it is very easy to get carried away and miss the opportunity to score big.
Once again, against the run of play, Paranavitana got out to a dolly from Ishant.On these kind of wickets, one requires either express pace of Shaun Tait or magicians like Shane Warne.India had none and hence, Sri Lankan batsmen continued to ride comfortably.The prosaic day's play ultimately came to an end, perhaps to the greater relief of viewers than the players.
DAY - 2
India began the day hoping to get some quick wickets on a placid track. Perhaps, an inspirational and adrenaline drived spell would have helped.Instead, Mithun and Sharma did just the opposite, much to the viewer's dismay and the run fest continued,Raina's fielding being the only bright spot for India.Sangakkara and Jayawardene simply toyed with the toothless,listless and unmotivated Indian bowling.Ojha was given some special treatment in his 29th over by Sangakkara, rightly putting him in his place.Sangakkara reached the 200 mark not long after, a fabulous display of shotmaking and a lesson on how to capitalize on such situations.If anyone deserves to be dropped from the team at present on basis of fitness and fielding, it has to Harbhajan after Yuvraj! Harbhajan, once again, performed poorly in the field, looking a tired mess!
Finally,Indians got a break when Sangakkara edged a Sehwag delivery to Dravid, departing for a well made 219, though he looked set to amass 300.The only mentionable points after this wicket are Mithun's terrible fielding, Mahela racing to his century,Sri Lanka's ploy to get a four every over by cashing on the rubbish Indians had to offer,the run flow and the agony a viewer was destined to by watching this match.The only points of discussion or speculation was the score deemed fit by Sangakkara to declare at and weather the Indian bowlers could score more centuries than the Sri Lankan batsmen!Gratefully, the toil ended with the wicket of Jayawardene, once again, not earned by some special bowling as Sangakkara decided to declare at a mammoth 629!This match certainly looks headed for a tame draw or a possible Sri Lankan victory, provided they could stop a stellar Sehwag show.
Indians started the run chase with Sehwag giving them the perfect start by profiting from the short stuff Sri Lankan pacemen had to put up for sale.To be fair to them, the pacers did well by putting in some effort and coming hard at the Indians on such a placid track.Wickets is what Sri Lankans need and thats what their bowlers were looking for but perhaps, they just overdid the ploy of bowling short and hence, failed to trouble the Indian openers as the wicket hardly helped them in their pursuit. Sehwag raced to his fifty, bringing back the memories of the historic test in Chennai against England where he providid a similar start in the fourth innings and India went on to win.He and Vijay saw the day off in style, the match looking poised for a certain draw with the famous Indian batting to follow.
DAY - 3
Another day of the test match began on what has looked like a smooth road instead of a pitch so far! Matthews brought in some variety by bowling slower balls at regular intervals.Fernando almost got Vijay by a good yorker, an inside edge saving the latter.Sangakkara did well to introduce Mendis early, though he continued with Matthews at the other end. Other than this, it was all about batting and the run fest, now being enjoyed by the Indian batsmen.Mendis troubled Vijay on more than one ocassion and also induced a false stroke from Sehwag only to be dropped by Samaraweera.On a pitch where wickets are like finding a case of gold,this mistake could have proved to be really costly for Sri Lanka.It was not to be as Sehwag fell trying to keep his unique,yet bizarre record of reaching the milestones with a maximum.On a pitch where he could have easily tucked in and attained greater milestones,he fell one short of a hundered!Fernando bowled wicket taking deliveries, concentrating on short stuff and yorkers but was unable to trouble the batsmen much,owing to his lack of pace.Mendis finally got Vijay off a googly as a result of which the two legends were, once again, together at the crease.The treat did not last long as Dravid was found plumb in front off a Randiv delievery, missing out on a chance to cash in.Sri Lankans almost got the prized wicket of Sachin in the very next over when a edge fell short off Sangakkara.
After lunch, India started batting in a tricky situation as a couple of quick wickets could have seen them battling for survival in this test match.After a quiet run of play, Sangakkara was back! Having done nothing substantial in terms of his captaincy so far, he decided to come to the party by removing Mendis from the attack.
He did well to introduce Prasad but should have continued Mendis from his end.Prasad got the bowl to reverse, an attribute that has always elluded the Indian bowlers.Laxman looked uncomfortable through out his innings, edging the ball quite a few times off various bowlers.Every now and then, infact, too often, something seems to get inside Sanga's head and infest it! He removed Prasad, who looked like getting a wicket and continued with Randiv at the other end.Giving both his pacemen a bowl at the same time or atleast bringing Mendis back into the attack would have harldy done his teams chances any harm.Tendulkar was dropped by Prasanna, another error by a Sri Lankan fielder which is unusual and unbecoming of them.Little did anyone know that this time, the mistake shall have devastating consequences as far as Sri Lankans are concerned.Mendis was brought back, courtesy Sangakkara, and it immediately resulted in the fall of Laxman's wicket, ringing the danger bells for India.
Randiv was continued after tea, the reverse swing not being utilized at all by Sangakkara.With Raina at the wicket, Fernando would not have been a bad option.Instead, he decided to remove even Mendis from the attack!!Tendulkar decided he had enough of Randiv and unleashed an array of strokes against the helpless bowler.Dilshan was introduced into the attack while Randiv was persisted with.Sangakkara is fast becoming the best learning lesson for all cricketers on how a captain can effect his teams fate!Every now and then, Raina rushed down the track, though it paid off (Wonder how foolish he would have appeared had he got out attempting one of his lofted shots!).By the time Raina had made his fifty, Fernando was introduced into the attack though he disappointed with some off target bouncers.One certainly missed Malinga here!Tendulkar and Raina saw off the days's play, much to the relief of the Indians.
DAY - 4
Hardly surprising the viewer, Sangakkara started things off with Randiv.Fernando's bowling was just like off guided missiles from a fighter plane! He was hardly hitting the target and hence, robbed the viewer of the Raina-short-stuff fun!It was a good move to get in Prasad instead of Dilhara but a foolish ploy to continue with Randiv at the other end.Prasad failed to impress as he hardly tested Raina with short stuff.To be fair to the bowlers, its extremely difficult to get results out of dumbo of a pitch!Raina reached his maiden test century and the run fest continued.He was certainly helped by two major factors-The batting pitch and off target bowling form Fernando.Next, Sachin Tendulkar was hit on the helmet by a Prasad delivery which did not bounce as high as the former expected.For Prassad, this should be a moment to savour!Randiv got the bowl to hit Sachin's pads a couple of times in quick succession but, otherwise, hardly looked effective.Perhaps Sri Lanka, with nothing to loose, could have attacked the batsmen by placing more fielders in catching positions.
Post lunch, it was the familiar and sad site of Sachin struggling with pain after a long innings.He stretched, perhaps a bit too much for his body to sustain, against a wide Mendis delievery.Finally, the partnership was broken with Mendis getting Raina and the viewers getting to see three fielders round the bat of Dhoni! Dhoni seemed to be completely pissed off due to the hard toil he had to endure in the field while Sri Lankans made merry! The follow on saved and the match headed for a draw, he decided to launch into the Sri Lankans!
Sangakkara! How can you possibly keep him out of the game?? Now,once again, he removed Mendis from the attack!!Dhoni attacked Randiv, though the latter shall be feeling deprived of a special treatment!
Sachin Tendulkar made further inroads into the record books with his fifth double hundered! As ever, more than the records, it was about his team as he anchored the innings to get India out of trouble, once again!To play (oops! to bat) at such a pitch is not a difficult task but to get your act together when your team needs it and to do so time and time again is certainly a special effort.
Tendulkar was out ,to Dilshan, in the third over after tea. Harbhajan, once again, did not bother to trouble the scorers as he made an early exit, perhaps a bit too early!India, were once again, in danger of being bowled out before they could think of a lead. It was not to be as a run-out chance of Mithun was missed and Sangakkara just had a couple of close-in fielders for him!
Bringing fielders in to prevent Dhoni from taking a single off the last ball was perhaps the best move Sangakkara made in this test! Dhoni decided to settle down, considering the situation.Mithun was beaten several times in his edgy innings but still appears a far better bet than most of the Indian bowlers when it comes to batting.
Dilshan made sure he gets the opportunity to crack a lot of jokes at his bowlers once the match was over as he got Dhoni's wicket with superb fielding off his own bowling!Next,Sri Lankans missed an easy run-out chance off Sharma before Prasanna dropped a difficult chance presented by the same batsman.Mithun decided he had had enough of the sedate batting and lost his stumps to Mendis, trying to fetch himself a boundary.It was a site to laugh at, seeing Ojha, perhaps a dangerous batsman in the books of Sngakkara, to be surrounded by just three fielders!Indian bowlers made sure they did not have to bowl today as the "test" match continued.
DAY - 5
Its amazing how human brain works! I have tried hard not to find faults in Sangakkara but he hardly fails to seek attention! Randiv and Dilshan were bowling to the tail-enders along with Mendis, who was removed from the attack for a brief spell of play.Randiv was persisted with even after drinks break.This match surely stamped Randiv as a guy with a lot of patience as he did not retaliate once with his skipper who seemed to want his arm off its socket!Finally, Fernando was introduced and the innings was over, though, to the dismay of the viewer, it was just the second innings of the match!
Sri Lankans came out to bat with Ishant and Mithun ready to let out their frustration! It was good to see them trying hard to bounce Sri Lanka out though the deliveries needed to be more accurate.Ishant's habit of overstepping is turning to be a permanent problem.He needs to work.Indians have certainly found a weakness in Dilshan in the last couple of series.Unlike most of the batsmen,he suffers from a unique and obscure problem of possessing a weaker leg side play! He is mostly found wanted when bowled at the pads or while facing short stuff.Once again, he fell to a short ball from Mithun,trying to pull it.Mithun looks a very good prospect, provided he continues to work and improve.India got a couple of wickets and finally, the turmoil ended (Talking about fans more than the players!)
One has to talk about Mahendra Singh Dhoni.This is what he had to say about his medium pacers "But still they were up there when it came to pace. They were bowling at decent pace."Dunno who he was really talking about! Indians hardly touch the 140 kmph mark and if Dhoni really feels they bowled quick, he needs to be woken up!
"It's not the first time we are playing a Test match or a series where we haven't been able to get the batsmen out. So I don't think it's a big worry." Well, i dunno what bigger worry he has to neglect this. To be fair to Dhoni, it is not in his capacity to produce fast bowlers for India! Its the system that is flawed and needs to be corrected.Dhoni was spot on in mentioning, though indirectly, that his bowlers needed to bowl slower balls and bouncers more regularly and that India lacked a spectrum of bowlers to choose from.Dhoni should just get a little more aggressive while giving his speech!Perhaps, he is afraid of recieving a reprimendation from the board just as Gambhir recieved it during the IPL!
On a serious note,one wonders why to watch the game of cricket in the world of football and tennis after seeing such a dull match! You hardly find a dismal moment in the other games due to the surface they are played at.It is immensely wearisome to see a match such as this.In this modern era where T-20 is taking huge strides and has become an instant success among the fans, test cricket needs to be made more exciting by preparing better conditions.Such matches are hardly welcome or appreciated.ICC ought to look into the matter and act strictly.Sometimes,i wonder the role of ICC! What major steps has it taken to improve the standard of cricket??Wonder what Paul, the Octopus would have predicted for this match!!Thankfully, he is involved only in football and for his own good, has nothing to do with such cricket.
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