Far from learning the lessons of the first innings debacle, the famed Indian middle order went AWOL in the second innings in the face of some fantastic spin bowling by the Sri Lankans.
Once again, the two standout performers for the Indians were Tendulkar and Laxman, but this time only up to a point. Laxman was playing very well, reaching 21 with three fours when one splendid over from Mendis did him in. Two carrom balls were spun across the defensive prod. Those were just the set-up balls. The next one was on the same line, only this time it spun into Laxman, whose hurried backfoot prod was of no avail, the ball crashing into his back leg in front of the stumps. The fact that Mendis got him out twice in the Test match with similar deliveries should put a frown on his face. However, 77 high-quality runs in 144 balls showed that he deserves to be promoted to #3 while Dravid sorts out the glitches in his batting. Tendulkar looked serene while at the crease, picking up both spinners quite easily, but Murali's relentless accuracy and line of attack got to Sachin. A fuller ball on the leg-stump enticed a sweep that he missed completey, but on the follow-through the ball hit the back of the bat and lobbed to backward short-leg where Dilshan took a great catch.
After the first innings I had predicted that only two results were possible - a Sri Lanka win or a draw. Once Tendulkar and Laxman got out, it was a matter of time before the Sri Lankans ran through the rest of the line-up and a draw went out of the window. Compared to the first innings, the Indians tried a more aggressive approach in dealing with Mendis and Murali but it seemed more out of hope than knowledge of what the ball was going to do. Batsman after batsman played for the ball to spin one way and it went the other way.
A few years ago I had felt that getting this batting line-up all out twice in a Test match for less than 250 would not be possible. When they come to the crease, the TV screen gets filled up with amazing numbers - the number of Tests that have played, the number of runs they have scored, their career batting averages, the highest scores thay have made, etc. But all that is candy floss from the past. The future starts now.
More than Mendis, the Indians have to worry about Murali. With his round-the-wicket approach to the batsman he has increased his options of taking wickets and when the most lethal bowler in Test history does that, it is time to sit up and take notice. Getting to a 1000 Test wickets is going to simply be a matter of time for the Kandy-Man.
I can hardly wait for the next Test match to begin and the battle to resume. Fun times lie ahead. Too bad this is only a 3 Test series.
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