For the first time on the tour, Dhoni called it right and won the toss,promptly deciding to bat first.For those expecting to see a glimpse of Saurabh Tiwary,the "cricketer", it was disappointing, infact, perplexing to see Jadeja in the playing eleven.Jadeja has hardly done anything, either with the bat or with the ball, to win a place in the squad, let alone the team.Such foolish team management and selection is hardly expected of Dhoni or Kirsten.Anyways, India finally got to bat first and considering the matches are being played at Dambulla, had an instant advantage over the opposition.
Malinga started things off for Sri Lanka in a fine fashion.Dinesh Karthik has certainly failed to make a name for himself as a one day batsman in the absence of Gambhir.The way he keeps stepping out of his crease to the likes of Malinga and Kulusekera( with the ball swinging) is mind boggling.Surely, there is "some" difference in the class and stature of Karthik and the likes of KP!!He was set up beautifully by Sangakkara, who came upto the stumps, and Kulusekera who mixed the inswingers with the straight ball well.Karthik failed once again as a dubious decision by the umpire showed him the way to the pavillion though he hardly deserved to be there.Sehwag looked good in his short stay before Kulusekera got him LBW by a beautiful inswinger as Indian openers failed to provid a solis start yet again.Rohit Sharma hardly looked convincing as he edged almost half the number of deliveries he played.Its time selectors axed him and provided the likes of Pujara with a much deserved oppotunity.Rohit was done in by an inswinger bowled at an "express pace" by Matthews!
Once again, Dhoni sent Raina to bat when there was a need to stabilize the innings.This attitude of Dhoni his hardly becoming of himself, the maverick Dhoni we are used to.A batsman with an average of over 50 after about 5 years of international cricket, Dhoni should conitnue to take the responsibility he has handled exceptionally well, that of anchoring the innings, before this tour.
Kulusekera was given a long spell by Sangakkara, another good move from him in a crunch game for Sri Lanka.Matthews was deprived of a second wicket by a false umpiring decision when Raina survived a caught behind chance.But, Sri Lanka hardly suffered as Dharamsena, the second umpire, sent Raina packing though the latter did not edge the ball, to give Perera his first wicket.Sangakkara missed a trick by just having one slip for the new batsman Dhoni,though he had a short extra cover, as the ball flew off the edge twice through the slip area for boundaries.Dhoni, though, fell prey to his own shot selection as he played a rubbish,pre-meditated shot to gift Perera his second wicket.Considering the busy schedule ahead (the champions league, series against AUS and SA and the world cups), the time is ripe to provide Dhoni a much needed break.Or can he leave the champions league considering his national team commitments??Anyways, in came the "best" allrounder the cricketing world has ever seen.
Ravindra Jadeja, the man who hardly fails to fail, was given a minor responsibility of rebuilding the Indian innings!! Perhaps, the task was too small considering his exceptionally high stature and class!
He lasted just "nine" (Yaa, he did!) deliveries, much to the dismay of the opposition and relief of the viewer.India found themselves at sea once Praveen also lost his wicket to an indiscreet shot selection.
The biggest positive for India was to see Yuvraj back in some form with his bat, though the same cannot be said of his fielding standards.The elegant off side drives were back as was the glance to the fine leg.Once the wickets started falling at the other end, he showed fine restraint and occupied the crease at the other end.The only fraility was the lack of application in his batting once the tailenders were at the crease as he took singles off the first ball of two overs, exposing the tail to Malinga, who was introduced back into the attack.A couple of overs and Nehra's wicket later, sense prevailed as Yuvraj asked for the batting powerplay and unleashed breathtaking strokes against Perera.Personally, i have always considered Yuvraj as the batsman with the best timing the world cricket has ever seen as was proved by a six over long off.
He also denied a single to Ishant off the 5th ball of the very same over, willing to take on Malinga.The entertainment,though, did not last long as Umpire Rauf sent Yuvraj back LBW though the ball was completely missing the wickets.The indian innings, which hardly looked like making it to the three figure mark at one point, ended at 103.
Sri Lanka made short work of the chase as Dilshan unleashed like a hungry, caged tiger at the Indians.The pull shots, for once, were connected well and along with Jayawardene, who was sent in to open the innings (another positive and a good move from Sangakkara), he ensured that the chase proved a cake walk.Rain interrupted the monentum as both the openers lost their wickets soon after the play resumed.Sri Lankans were in a ruthless mood as was suggested by Sangakkara who opted for a batting powerplay!The match ended with Sri Lanka completely outplaying the Indians and cantering into the finals of the tri series.
Inspite of winning the toss and batting first, the Indian batsmen failed to make any sort of impression.The umpiring decisions did play a part in the poor performance but still, the batsmen hardly did anything creditable as even if 100 runs are added to the total, the prospects of the Indian bowlers defending the target were meagre.Dhoni called Jadeja a specialist spinner at the toss.Yet, one wonders why is Jadeja being sent in ahead of Ishant and even Nehra for that matter!If the light conditions were blamed for the loss against NZ in the first game, Dhoni can certainly be expected to come up with such a statement as this - Our batsmen got used to playing under lights after we consistently lost the toss. Hence, they found it difficult to adjust to the daylight!!The match was a clear indication of the dependency of the Indian batting on the stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar (the bowling already spearheaded by Nehra and Zaheer, both of whom were a part of 2003 world cup!).More than the schedule and timing of various series, its the money and stardom brought in by IPL and other series that needs to be held responsible for these lacklustre performances.Players like Irfan hardly seem motivated to play for their country as IPL brings them more than enough money.The security of place an Indian cricketer seems to feel after a couple of fine performances is also responsible for the drop in performance levels.The domestic structure and the lack of facilities and professional training also does a players physique and play no good.India, next face NZ in a crunch game and some necessary steps need to be taken by the management.Saurabh Tiwary and Virat Kohli should be given a chance instead of Jadeja and Dhoni as the latter needs some rest and Karthik can take the responsibility of wicketkeeping.
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