Running diary - Day 1: Dravid shows the way yet again
Running diary - Day 2: Dilshan to the forefront
Running diary - Day 3: Single-minded Sri Lanka
Day 4
There are three points I want to address before the day's play starts:
a) I have had a couple of folks ask me if the lack of success for the Indians is a sign that MS Dhoni's luck is running out and his captaincy is being exposed. I do not think that is the case at all. All through the Sri Lankan innings Dhoni has been varying his plans every few overs or so. He began by attacking, then moved into a semi-defensive mode after Dilshan was firing away, adjusted to Harbhajan's line and Mishra's length by tweaking his field. When he had an attacking field the bowlers, especially the two spinners, let him down badly. Even when he resorted to defensive fields he had the bowlers change their angles of attack (every bowler bowled both over and round the wicket during the course of the day), getting an extended spell from Mishara-Tendulkar from the Warne-line outside leg-stump spinning into the batsmen.
All the while, he has been pro-active and has not been shy about adjusting and trying things out. Even as the bowlers and fielders have dropped off, it has been more because of the lack of success of the plans than the fact that there are no plans.
b) Sometime after the first hour today, the TV commentators will begin their favorite parlor game - guessing when a captain will declare the innings closed. Commentators love to spend hours and hours talking about it (Arun lal, who is not in the team this time, loves this more than most). No matter when Sangakkara declares, it will not be the correct time to do so. But that will not be informed to us by the commentators until after the 5th day's play is completed.
c) Russel Arnold made a telling comment yesterday. Late in the evening, Harbhajan had the rest of the fielders in splits with his antics and jokes, injecting some life into the proceedings. As the camera lingered on Harbhajan, Arnold began talking about how Harbhajan Singh, of late, has begun improving his all-round skills, adding that his batting and his ability to make people relax on the field while fielding are good improvements. Then he said that, unfortunately for India, it was this third skill of his that he was making the most impression with in this Test, which was a big reason for the long day in the field. Arnold alluded to the fact that as the premier spinner and the leader of the pack a lot more was expected of him. True, very true.
10:04am: Ishant Sharma begins with the outside the off-stump line that served him so well against Michael Hussey but, thankfully, without a defensive field (no sweeper cover, no deep point, etc.). Gavaskar calls Yuvraj Singh the only outstanding fielder they have inside the 30 yard circle. Either he is in a time warp or he is being kind to the others. Having said that, since the time he took Samaraweera's catch, Yuvraj has been a lot more active than I can recall him being of late.
10:09pm: Zaheer Khan takes over at the other end. Prasanna flicks an inswinger to the square-leg fence and then edges the next one on the bounce to second slip. ZAK is getting some movement here and could be a handful over the next few overs.
10:14pm: Mahela hits a sweet cover drive to the fence. The encouraging thing for Ishant is that Mahela reached a little away from his body to get to it. Yuvraj slides arond at cover to save the next drive. This was hit even further away from his body than the previous one. Two slips lie in wait. 601 for 5, Mahela 208, Prasanna 89.
10:16pm: ZAK is coming in from a shortened run-up. His first-ball bouncer is effortlessly pulled away to the square-leg fence by Prasanna, taking him to 93.
10:21pm: Mahela cuts away two balls to the point boundary and Ishant Sharma's pace (or lack thereof), which is at about 125kmph, draws Gavaskar's ire in the field. Dhoni runs up to Ishant, has a word, and removes one slip and puts in a deep point. I'd probably have kept the slip and reduced one of the leg-side fielders, but that is a minor quibble at this point.
"Mahela has got lovely hands. I daresay if he wasn't a batsmen he'd have made a good potter," suggests Gavaskar. I don't think he is referring to Mahela's wizarding pedigree here, though he very well might be considering how he is wielding that willow. 613 for 5 in 165 overs, Mahela on 216, Prasanna on 93.
Obligatory Non-SRT Milestone watch: This is scarcely believable, but Mahela who began the innings needing 253 runs to reach 9,000 Test runs, is just 37 runs away!
10:31pm: Prasanna edges the ball just short of Dhoni and it slips under the glove, well past the bounce, and runs away to the fence taking him to 99. Ishant's lack of pace let him down there. Prasanna deserves this century. I hope he gets it. As an Indian supporter, I hope he does not get much more than that. And a glide to the third man fence, past point, gets him his second Test 100. Very well played innings, and thoroughly deserved.
Sri Lanka reaches 625 for 5 in 167 overs, a lead of 199, Mahela on 216, Prasanna 103. Their partnership stands at 250 runs even.
Prasanna is widely regarded as the best keeper in international cricket. One of the reasons he has not been a regular fixture is that other fellows with better batting skills have been considered for that secondary skill. With this innings, Prasanna shows that he can hang around on a docile pitch in foreign conditions, if required. While it is unwise to make projections based on a pitch that has already yielded a double century, and three other centuries, it is still a great sign for his supporters (and yes, I have been a fan of his since the time I saw him when India toured Sri Lanka) as well as followers of cricket around the world.
10:40pm: The field is now starting to spread just a little bit as there is very little movement for Ishant this morning. Actually he has been able to cut the ball in but at nowhere near the pace that he is usually able to generate. Both he and ZAK look stiff. The long hours in the field yesterday and the day before are taking their toll. Another glide to the third man fence, another boundary to that area, another gap that MS Dhoni now has to think about plugging.
Mahela looks like he will join Sehwag as the only right-handers to have scored two triple centuries in their Test career (Editors note: How could I be so dense?? I forgot that Don Bradman was right-handed, too!!). In case you did not pick up on this earlier, his 374 is the highest score ever made by a right-handed batsman in Test history (an innings I watched with fascination). Even that innings was as unflustered as this one has been. That day it took a freak ball from Andre Nel, one that kept very low after pitching, to get him out. I wonder what it will take to get him out today. Nothing I suspect the bowlers throw up will affect him in the zone he is in here.
By the way, if I am Indian supporter, I'd be rooting for him to challenge Brian Lara's score of 400. You do the math and figure out how long it will take him to get there and what it will mean in terms of time left in the Test match.
Sivaramakrishanan invokes the memories of Napier earlier this year and the cameras focus on VVS Laxman, whose rearguard innings in the second innings secured a draw for the Indians after the Kiwis put up over 600 runs in their first innings.
10:50pm: Harbhajan is jumping in today, bowling outside the off-stump but with loop and a forward short-leg and a leg-slip in place. He almost gets through Mahela's defenses there, the ball taking the inner-edge, going past the front leg, hitting the flap of the back pad, rolling down and hitting the back ankle. That last deflection is just enough to divert the trajectory of the ball past the off-stump. This has been the closest the Indians have been to dismissing him, hence that detailed description. Half-chances once every 222 runs deserve their own paragraph!
Oooh...CricInfo is referring to Mahela as MJ and Prasanna as PJ in their live commentary section. Why didn't I think of that?
638 for 5, 228, 104, lead: 212. Each number tells its own tale.
10:59pm: Amit Mishra comes on to bowl. No longer is it valid to say a bowler is coming into the attack. It is more like self-defense at this point in time. Mahela is enjoying his offerings, stepping down twice - once for four and then for six. That sound you hear is that of Amit Mishra's traveling case being shut. Scapegoats will be needed and since Harbhajan cannot be asked to "bowl a few overs in domestic cricket to get back his rhythm", Mishra will have to go.
About 10 different times in the past three days the commentators, especially Ravi Shastri, have pointed out that Mishra is under-cooked because he has not bowled in the longer form of the game for a long while and that he needs some seasoning. And every time that comes up, I feel like pointing out that the last first-class game that Harbhajan bowled was in the Test series in April this year, too. Since then he has predominantly bowled in the limited overs games, and in a fashion designed to contain runs. What's good for the goose has got to be good for the gander. I don't hear anyone mentioning that Harbhajan needs a stint of domestic cricket. What's up with that?
11:12pm: Amit Mishra bowls wide outside the leg stump and is still swept away for a four by Mahela, who moves to 244. In the next over, Harbhajan is picked up from wide outside the off-stump and sent to the midwicket fence. Harbhajan now goes around the wicket to counter it.
11:16pm: Ravi Sahstri starts talking about how Gambhir needs to prepare himself for the impending declaration. Not much longer to go before they start their parlor game - predict the lead at declaration.
11:19pm: Alert the authorities - Sri Lanka reaches 666. Hah! I beat Shastri to the punch by about a minute or so.
11:25pm: Yes, Shastri incurs the "what Sri Lanka don't want is to have India 8-down at the close of play tomorrow. They have got to leave themselves enough time" point of view. Naturally, he does not say exactly when he thinks enough is enough.
11:31pm: Prasanna and Mahela are starting to take toll, finding that scoring 4 runs an over is still do-able in spite of the restrictive line. Mahela crosses 250 and is within a single of 9,000. Sri Lanka is now at 683 for 5 in 182 overs, Prasanna on 124, Mahela on 252. The partnership is now worth 308 runs. Definitely the highest partnership between two batsmen who share the same last name but are not related to each other (just hedging my bets in case the Waughs or the Chappells had a bigger one). As I type that Mahela reaches 9,000 runs. Wow. I did not expect him to get it in the first innings of the series. Contrast that with Sachin when he needed 170-odd to cross Lara when he visited Sri Lanka. He left after the 3 Test series still a few runs short of that record. Unfortunately, India does not have a mystery spinner akin to Mendis in its reserves.
11:36pm: Russell Arnold is imploring the batsmen to "put the foot on the accelerator." I think he means he wants them to press harder on the accelerator, for they have had a foot on the accelerator for a long, long time now.
11:44pm: Mishra almost does a Nel, sending in a shooter that hits Mahela just above the ankle in front of the leg-stump. Unfortunately, since he is pitching it way outside the leg-stump, it is not an LBW. By the way, does anyone out there know why a ball pitched outside the leg-stump is automatically deemed to be impossible to give an LBW on?
Oh, the score is 695 for 5 in 187 overs, Mahela on 261, Prasanna on 127. This partnership is at 320 runs now.
11:52pm: Sri Lanka reaches 700, a lead of 273 runs. Virender Sehwag comes on to bowl - finally.
188 overs have gone by before Sehwag was thought of as an option. Or at least, agreed to turn his arm over. So far, he has not gotten any turn into the batsman. But his ball is drifting in the air, I think. Looks like that to me at least or maybe I am just deliriously happy to be seeing him bowl. 4 runs in that over, all of them to deep point.
11:56pm: Bruce Yardley gets into the spirit of things by guessing that Sri Lanka will declare with a 300 run lead. More than enough he reckons. Mahela distracts him by late cutting a Mishra offering (from over the wicket) to the third man fence.
11:59pm: Arnold offers up the first piece of positive news involving India in days - they have bowled 30 overs in this session, right on the target of 15 overs an hour. Sadly, this is the first session in this Test match when the REQUIRED target has been attained. Yes, we have had 9 previous sessions without the minimum requirement being met and no one with the authority to do something about it seems to care. Sehwag bowls the perfect, perfect off-break drawing the batsman forward, inviting the drive against the turn, beating the bat and even the keeper. Where was this man all these days? Ugh! In the pavilion, Murali's eyes lit up for sure.
And that's lunch on the 4th day. Sri Lanka 708 for 5, Mahela is on 267, Prasanna on 134, the partnership is at 333, the lead at 282.
And I shall take a break now. To sleep, perchance to dream. See you in half an hour or so.
Not that you care, but Ronnie Brown, the running back on my fantasy football team is injured and has been declared out for the season. Oh no! I need to go get me a running back and every team in my league has stocked up on them. Luckily, I have a two game lead so I have some time to recoup.
12:44am: Mahela is looking to score off every ball indicating that the Sri Lankans are close to where they think they are safe. Gavaskar starts counting overs and runs and predicts that Sri lanka will declare at the drinks interval. The game is definitely afoot, Watson. 8 runs off the first over by Mishra after lunch helps. By the way, Mahela now owns the highest score by a visiting batsman in India as well as the highest score by a Sri Lankan in an away Test.
12:47am: Sehwag at the other end, is picked off from way outside the off-stump to the midwicket boundary by Prasanna. Prasanna and Mahela equal Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton's world record for the 6th wicket in Tests. One ball later, they eclipse the pair. 349 runs and counting. I am sorry to say I did not catch that one coming.
Gavaskar: "The Indian attack has looked size 0." No comments.
Mahela reverse sweeps for a single. Sri Lankan intent very evident now. The lead is at exactly 300. A totally selfless attempt to hit a six results in the end of Mahela's innings. Mishra is cock-a-hoop. There is the small matter of 275 runs made by Mahela before that mis-step, though. 726 for 6, Prasanna on 144.
India sniffs a chance to get Sri Lanka all-out. Dhoni has the Lankans exactly where he wants them, 300 runs ahead and no one will fault the Indians for batting for a day and a half now, padding their averages. (By the way, if you did not detect the note of sarcasm there....oh well, never mind).
By the way the new batsman is Dammika Prasad.
Obligatory Non-SRT Milestone watch: Dammika Prasad needs 55 runs to reach 100 Test runs.
By the way, Dammika does have a first-class century to his credit.
4 of the 10 world record partnerships in Test cricket are by Sri Lankan pairs now (for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th wicket). Mahela Jayawardene has been one of the batsmen involved in three of them. Incredible.
Dhoni is still shouting instructions to Mishra on where to bowl to the batsman, keeping up a steady stream of advice.
Prasanna reached 150 now, the first Sri Lankan #7 to reach that milestone, Sivaramakrishnan informs us. 739 for 6 in 198 overs.
India is jut 40 overs away from the third new ball. Somehow I have this strong suspicion that they will not need to take it. I am really prescient about things like this.
Dammika has made 10 in 26 balls. Perplexing. Meanwhile Mishra has scored a double century, 57 overs for 200. In comparison, Harbhajan's 48 overs have gone for 189.
Yardley raises a very pertinent point: Mahela got out taking a big risk and was looking to score boundaries off every ball. Since his departure, the batsmen have just dabbed it around for singles. Why did Mahela bat the way he did if the intent was not to score runs quickly but rather to bat time?
Dilshan is applying some sunscreen in the pavilion. Yup, now we know what is going to happen in a few minutes from now. It has been 40 minutes since the lunch interval. The batsmen are still pottering away for ones here and there, not really trying anything extravagant.
And just after I type that Dammika Prasad swings hard and high and gets out, caught in the deep by Mishra off Harbhajan Singh. The Turbanator has done it, forcing Sangakkara's hands, causing the declaration to be announced.
Final tally: 760 for 7, Prasanna remains not out on 154. This is the 6th highest team total in Test history. Sri Lanka lead by 334 runs.
The Indian reply will begin in 10 minutes. I shall stretch my feet until then. Be back in a jiffy.
1:34am: I don't believe this. Sangakkara has a man at sweeper cover to start the innings for Sehwag, who hits the first ball for four past that fielder. Two slips, a gully, a cover and mid-off, apart from the sweeper. Sehwag is in Seh-whack mood, swinging freely at every ball, and gets the thick edge that is deflected away by the keeper into the gap between first and second slip. Dropped catch that was going straight to Mahela at first slip. No-ball, so it would not have counted. Maybe this will calm Sehwag down a little bit. The ball was so wide it hit the end of Sehwag's bat and Welegedara is a left-armer angling the ball away from the righty from over the wicket.
By the way, Sehwag's average has dipped to slightly below 50 runs an innings because of his recent run of cameos.
1:39am: Okay. Sehwag greets Prasad with a four to cover off the first ball. This man is something else altogether. The next ball is studiously defended away. The first defensive shot in this innings for Sehwag. Two more to sweeper cover now. Sehwag edges a drive between keeper and first slip for a four. Oh dear, both of them went for it and both of them whiffed.
In 11 balls the Sri Lankan bowlers have induced more edges than the Indian pacers did in the entire Sri Lankan innings. Is it the bowlers? Is it the batsmen?
Some math for Sangakkara to digest. At the start of the second innings there were 145 overs to go. Assuming India blazes away at 4 runs an over. It will take them to 585 runs, a lead of just 250 runs. There is no way India gives Sri Lanka a target less than that. Therefore, Mr. Sangakkara, there is no reason to not attack the batsmen. You don't really need to worry about the fours being hit. You need 10 pieces of inspiration to win the Test. Go get them.
1:46am: Gambhir finally plays in front of himself and punches it, Langer-style, to the cover fence. The ball was escorted all the way by the cover fielder. Just enough power, just enough timing.
Oh, India's score is 24 for no loss in 3 overs, Sehwag 16, Gambhir 7. Trail by 310 runs.
1:51am: Sehwag has made one adjustment to his technique in light of his first innings dismissal. When he is defending, the bat is in front of the pads, not behind it as it was in the first innings. Prasad bowls a ball that does not rise above shin height on its way to the keeper. Ooooh!
I have mentioned this a few times in the past but it bears repeating. Sanjay Manjrekar has mentioned a few times on air about how Sehwag bats when he is nervous. Where other folks tend to play within themselves when they are nervous, Sehwag's mode of dealing with it is to hit the ball hard and often, spreading the field and calming his nerves even as the bowler gets defensive. Manjrekar's astute judgement makes perfect sense when you recall a typical Sehwag inning. The flurries at the beginning and when nearing landmarks (he is the only batsman to reach 300 with a six and the second time he was nearing 300 he tried to reach it with a six again!) typically sandwich periods of "sensible" batting predicated on taking the singles on offer. I am reminded of Manjrekar now as Sehwag is no longer swinging his bat willy-nilly defending away the good balls after that hectic start.
2:02am: After a more orthodox start to his innings, in the last 3 balls or so, Gambhir has suddenly started batting in the nudge and prod mode that led to his downfall in the first innings (and the recent ODI series against Australia).
34 for no loss, Sehwag 16, Gambhir 17. Trail by 300 runs, 130 overs left in the match.
2:12am: Gambhir continues to bat that way. Sehwag and are picking up some really sharp singles without any sign of trouble. 39 for no loss now.
2:14am: 8 overs into the innings, Sangakkara has had enough of it and brings Herath on to bowl to Gambhir. Herath starts over the wicket to the lefty and round the wicket to the righty. Let the games begin! Sehwag is content to simply pat away the first two balls. The third ball is the prance down the wicket and he gets it off the outer half of the bat. No harm done eventually as it rolls into the fence on the second bounce.
Oh my goodness! Sangakkara's response is to add a guy at long-off to the guy already at deep cover. He has just two close-in catchers, and 5 inside the "30-yard circle". Four people patrol the fence with a 290 run lead. Seriously!
2:19am: Sehwag tries to get run out but Murali cannot hit the stump from mid-on with Sehwag about 5 yards short of the crease. Chalk it down as another life for Viru. The next ball is driven majestically by Gambhir but Angelo Matthews goes airborne to his right and plucks the ball on the bounce and prevents four runs. Already he has saved more runs that India did in the whole innings. What an effort and he is not even Sri Lanka's best fielder.
2:22am: Sehwag is fed on his toes by Prasad and he cashes in with a four to midwicket to bring up the 50 in the 10th over. Sehwag is on 28, Gambhir is on 22. The duo are taking turns amping up the scoring. Sehwag raced to 12, Gambhir went past him to 20, Sehwag has now overtaken him to get to 29, etc. It is like they are riding a tandem bike.
Herath again and Sangakkara has a long-on even before Gambhir has tried to hit over the top. I guess he must have been fast asleep all day yesterday when India ceded single after single to the Jayawardene's.
57 for no loss in 11 overs, Gambhir on 23, Sehwag on 33, India trail by 277 with 125 overs to go.
2:27am: Over number 12 brings Murali to the crease. Diametrically opposite to the first innings when he came on with the score 67 for 4 in 15 overs. It is now 62 for no loss in 12 overs.
2:32am: Gavaskar starts off again about there being just 3 overs to go for the tea break and how the Indians should be mindful of not gifting a wicket away to the Sri Lankans. I was listening carefully and he never advised the visitors to do that when they were nearing a break. Sehwag does not listen to him, cuts Murali for a couple to deep third man, and then gently pushes a ball to long on for a single. Murali is bowling with just 2 slips to Gambhir now. Too bad the Sri Lankan lead is only 268 runs. Imagine how conservative Sangakkara would have been if the lead was just 100.
This is very disappointing captaincy. By the way, Sangakkara, when the field was hemmed in Sehwag gave you two chances in the slips. Doesn't that tell you something? Also, if the roles had been reversed, how do you think Dhoni would have approached it? The answer should tell you whether you think Dhoni is a good captain in your mind or not.
2:40am: 69 for no loss in 15 overs, Sehwag on 40, Gambhir on 28, India trail by 265 runs.
Sehwag steps away from the leg stump and cuts Murali past first slip (in the air) to the third man fence. A few balls later the umpires decide they have had enough of Sangakkara's negativeness and take off the bails, signalling tea.
2:44am: India 77 for no loss, Sehwag on 47, Gambhir on 28, India trail by 257 runs with 118 overs to go.
I shall take a short break now and resume in a few minutes.
3:10am: Sehwag gets to his fifty with a shimmy down the wicket and a flick to the midwicket fence. One fourth of the way there now for him. He has been looking a little too edgy throughout the course of this innings. Ay caramba! He has thrown it away with a horrible slog sweep that took the top edge and Angelo Matthew took it comfortably at mid-on. 81 for 1, Gambhir batting on 28. Dravid comes in, the situation may cause him to revert to the Dravid of old. I hope not as the Dravid in the first innings was a welcome sight.
3:17am: Gambhir is not letting the wicket change the way he plays. With two slips in place Murali is trying to get him on the cut shot. Gambhir obliges by cutting for four and then getting a single to sweeper at point. 91 for 1 in 20 overs, Gambhir on 34, Dravid on 3, India trail by 243 runs with 115 overs to go.
3:21am: Good positive batting from Dravid. Solid in defense, as usual, but not afraid to rock back and hit the ball hard if the bowlers are shorter in length. Sensible.
3:22am: Rahul Dravid must be happy the fast bowlers are not on as he can now bat wearing a cap. It is going to be a long day in the sun today and tomorrow for all the players. 98 for 1 in 22 overs, Gambhir 36, Dravid 7. India trail by 236 runs with 113 overs to go.
3:27am: Gambhir waltzes down the track (and waltzes is the right word) to drive handsomely through covers for a four to bring up the 100 of the innings. Mahela is talking away and adjusting the field while Sangakkara watches. The field is a lot more attacking now that Sehwag has wandered away to the la-la land that only he inhabits.
By the way, before you ask me: I am not upset at the shot choice of Sehwag there. He bats in a different word from the rest of us and he has played enough long innings, more than most people, to know what works for him. He is not a maniacal masher of the ball and must have seen something in the ball that convinced him he could get away with the hoick (there was no deep midwicket in place). With a player like him, I'd be more inclined to let him have his way, especially as he has demonstrated his pedigree in the past.
3:30am: Dravid steps away and cuts Murali to third man. Murali nearly gets his man in return when a ball loops off Dravid's pad, just beyond the reach of the fielder at forward short-leg for a legbye...should have been a legbye but Tony Hill makes no indication suggesting that if the catch had been taken he would have sent Dravid on his way. Dravid is shaking his head vehemently at the non-striker's end but chooses not to say anything to the umpire.
3:34am: Five good balls from Herath and then a loose, overpitched ball outside the off-stump that the rejuvenated Dravid cashes in with a smash that the sweeper cover is not able to reach.
3:36 am: Sharp single by Gambhir to Dilshan at short cover, safely home in the end as the throw goes to the keeper and not directly to the stumps. 114 for 1 in 26 overs, Gambhir on 43, Dravid on 16. India trail by 220 runs with 109 overs to go.
3:40am: Herath bowls a tight line to Dravid, but with only two close-in catchers - slip and forward short-leg. Maybe Sangakkara hopes to bore the Indians into giving wickets. In response the Indians are taking as many runs as they can knowing that as the lead dwindles so will the hopes of a Sri lankan win.
3:43am: Murali is not bowling at all like the Murali I know. Dravid has cut him to third man three times that I can remember. Was I being too harsh on Harbhajan earlier? Murali's analysis as of now: 9-0-35-0. Herath: 10-0-38-1.
India 120 for 1, trails by 214 runs, Gambhir 44, Dravid 21, with 107 overs to go.
Herath occasionally bowls a ball using only two fingers - it is easy to spot as his action changes quite noticeably - and the ball is almost like Mendis' carrom ball - zipping through when it pitches.
Another thing about Murali that has just come to my attention. Normally he is very animated, smiling, cracking jokes, looking relaxed. Today he seems a little irked by something and is frowning quite a bit. 10-0-40-0 for him. I think he needs a short break, about 3-4 overs or so.
3:54am: Gambhir steps down, and flicks to midwicket. The single takes him to a richly deserved 50. Once again another 2nd innings 50 for him. Including this innings, the last 8 times he has batted in the second innings for India he has scored 3 centuries and 3 fifties with another 30 not out thrown in for good measure. That 8th occasion in which he missed out? He had already made 206 in the first innings in Anil Kumble's last Test match!
Gautam Gambhir is an oddity, an opener who is a very good player of spin. Aakash Chopra rates him as among the best players of spin bowling in the country, present Indian teammates included. High praise.
4:05am: Dammika Prasad comes in to bowl forcing Dravid to wear a helmet for the first time. Three no-balls slightly spoil an otherwise good over where he got Gambhir to chase a wide one giving him a chance to have a polite conversation with the batsman.
That takes us to drinks. India are 138 for 1 in 33 overs, Gambhir on 55, Dravid on 25, India trail by 196 with 102 overs left in the Test.
4:14am: Murali comes on right after the drinks break. Sangakkara may want to think of Welegedara for a couple of overs just as a change of pace before going back to Herath and Murali. Murali gets thumped to the cover boundary by Dravid, who is (I am grateful to report) batting like he did in the first innings - full of positive energy and hustle. 12-0-49-0 for Murali.
Sangakkara reads my blog (!) - Welegedara into the attack now. At the other end, I'd like to see Dilshan replace Murali for a two or three over spell.
4:18am: First three balls from Welegedara are right on the target forcing the forward press. Welegedara is getting the ball to swing into Gambhir just a little bit, enough to get the inner-half of the bat and send the ball towards mid-on when it was intended to go towards mid-off. Make that 5 balls in the same region. A single off the last ball to a ball that was wide of the off-stump ensures that 35 overs into the innings Sri Lanka still hasn't bowled a maiden over. I think it is as much an indictment of the wicket as it is of the bowlers being unable to bowl a steady line and length that keeps the batsmen quiet.
Gavaskar finally gives me the type of insight that I expect commentators, especially former players, to provide. He talks about Gambhir being someone who is always looking to learn something from the more experienced players. He expands on that with an anecdote that when Gambhir first came into the Indian team in 2004, he was quickly nicknamed Clovermint (or something that sounded like that...help!) after a commercial wherein a highly curious person is constantly asking questions, much akin to how Gambhir was and still is.
4:27am: Four more runs from Murali's over takes India past 150. Welegedara is now bowling 2-3 feet outside the off-stump to Dravid with a lone slip nearby. Dravid takes up the challenge and square-drives him for a couple to deep point.
153 for 1 in 37 overs. Gambhir 62, Dravid 32, India trail by 191 runs with 99 overs to go.
Somebody finally replaces Murali - it is Dammika Prasad's honor to do so. Dammika Prasad and Peter Siddle are similar bowlers, if that helps you visualize Prasad's bowling style. Sweat is dripping off Dravid's visor, a sure sign that things are back to normal in the cricketing world. Prasad is gently deflected away by Dravid through the absent gully fielder to the vacant third man area, for a four. Prasad returns by moving the ball away and beating Dravid who was walking foward to meet the ball. Well bowled, sir. See, banging in short is not the only way to bowl. Pitch it up and let the swing come about on its own.
By the way, during the lunch break Saun Udal in the Sky Sports studio informed us that Middlesex has signed Adam Gilchrist as their overseas player for the T20 portion of the next County season. He hinted that they are trying to lure Sachin Tendulkar into joining the Australian. Midlesex must have a lot of money in its coffers. Gilchrist is living the life that Chris Gayle dreams of and Andrew Flintoff and Symonds are trying to attain - that of a T20 mercenary.
4:36am: Welegedara is getting some decent swing here - about the width of a bat or so. Enough to make the batsmen play him a bit cautiously and under their noses. If he stays healthy, and based on his CricInfo profile that is a big if, Sri lanka has found its replacement for the recently-retired Chaminda Vaas.
163 for 1 in 39 overs, Gambhir on 65, Dravid on 37, India trails by 171 runs with 96 overs remaining in the Test.
4:40am: Dammika Prasad is bowling in the low 140's, close to 90mph. Pretty good stuff.
4:45am: Dravid is given out LBW and that was surely not out. Dravid is not happy and the replay shows why. Hawkeye says it would hit the outside of the leg-stmp but that was not out at all. Welegedara was coming round the wicket from wide of the crease and the angle would have taken it past the leg-stump. Darryl Harper has another mistake in his copybook.
India 173 for 2 in 40.1 overs, Dravid out for 38, Gambhir batting on 70, India trail by 161 with 94.5 overs to go.
4:48: Sachin Tendulkar opts for a tail-ender and Amit Mishra comes in. I used to think it was the captain's call until I read somewhere that the Indian team leaves it to the incoming batsman to decide whether he wants a night-watchman or not.
In the first innings Mishra looked quite competent and he shows he can bat with a sweet cquare-drive for a boundary to get off the mark off Welegedara.
4:51am: Prasad comes in to Mishra with a deep point, a deep fine-leg and a deep square-leg, and the edge goes through the vacant third man area through where third slip would be. What are you protecting the boundaries for, Sangakkara? Crowd the #10 batsman and keep catching positions, you are leading by 156 runs. Now the ridiculously open field lets him take a single off the 5th ball of the over. 184 for 2, India trails by 150 runs with Gambhir on 72, and Mishra on 9. 3 overs left today, and 90 tomorrow.
Prasad is leaving the field, walking gingerly. I hope it is nothing serious as Sri Lanka will need him tomorrow. Maybe he is just ensuring he does not have to bowl again today and, thus, beats the rush to the ice-bath.
4:56am: Welegedara bowls with three slips for Mishra, and then a big gap until cover, with a deep point. The two boundary riders on the leg-side are still in place. Now, one of them comes in to square-leg. Now that Prasad has left I think Murali may bowl one more over. Mishra negotiates the over carefully and safely.
Two overs to go, Murali on to bowl. Three boundary riders, a slip, forward short-leg, short mid-wicket, short cover close by. A no-ball, Murali's 4th of the innings lets Gambhir punch it away for a single. Mishra jumps out and attempts an extravagant hoick and misses and makes it back in time before the silly point fielder throws down the stumps. Chagrined by that, Mishra then plays away the next 4 balls with the full face exposed to Murali. Better. It becomes best when he sweeps the last ball for a single and is going to take strike off the first ball of the next over.
It is the last over of the day and since he will be shielding Gambhir from the strike, I suspect the first maiden of the day for Sri Lanka will be in the books 6 balls from now, 45 overs into the Indian innings.
5:05am: Herath to bowl the last over. Ball one - driven back to the bowler. Ball two - flicked to deep midwicket for a couple, maiden averted! Ball three - punched all the way to deep mid-off. Ball four - defended on the front foot. Ball five - defends on the backfoot to short midwicket. Neeya mai, says the keeper (or something that sounds like that). Ranil Abenayake translates and says that it mean well done in Sinhalese. Ball six - taken on the thigh pad on the back foot.
End of day's play. India is 192 for 2 in 45 overs, trailing by 144, Gambhir on 74, Mishra on an impressive 12. Sri Lanka has not bowled a single maiden over in the second innings so far. And that tells you the tale of both team's approach. India has looked positive, looking for runs at every opportunity, knowing that the fewer runs that separate them from Sri Lanka in the deficit column, the lesser the pressure on them. Sri Lanka has looked very diffident in the field in the captaincy stakes. Sangakkara has been too quick to let the pressure relieve by spreading his fielders in a reactionary manner, placing them were the boundaries are being hit. Murali has looked very ineffective but the field he has is not attacking enough to make the batsmen think twice about shuffling around in the crease.
All in all, by lunch tomorrow if India is able to reduce the deficit to between 50-75 without losing wickets, we may see a long leather hunt for the Sri Lankans.
Okay now it is time to get some sleep. Organismal Biology lab beckons in the morning in a few hours from now!
2 comments:
All my life I’ve heard how impossible it is to beat India on their turf, especially when you are Cricket Lanka. We may win, lose, or draw this one, but the fact that Mahela has beaten Dravids test score on this little piece of Indian soil is very satisfying. One mile stone at a time - slow and steady.
JAN, at times when I have flagged a little bit the thought that you must be intently awaiting my thoughts on the Lankan batting has kept me going.
Mahela's innings was a wonderful one, flattish track notwithstanding.
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