9:45pm: Now that the beast (me) has been well-rested (slept about 5 hours up till now) and well-fed (eating some yummy home-made ginger prawns) it is time to resume this running diary business of mine. I had a premonition that India will be fielding today. Let's see how it plays out.
The stage is set - India is leading 1-0 and needs to win this Test to take up an ephemeral position as the #1 ranked team in the world.
Okay, some ground rules need to be established. I will write about things and thoughts as they happen. I will fall flat with some predictions and strike gold with others. I reserve the right to brag about the latter while ignoring the former. Call it a diarist's prerogative.
9:55pm: Sunil Gavaskar does a really good job of introducing the viewer to the new, refurbished Brabourne stadium. Well done, sir. However, a minor quibble - gushing over Sachin Tendulkar (SRT) by calling him the world's best batsman is a bit much.
9:59pm: Yup, my premonition come true - Sri Lanka wins the toss. Sri Lanka drafts in Nuwan Kulasekara and India brings in Murali Vijay.
10:00pm: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan utters the words that chills me to the bone in fear - "This is going to be a brilliant batting pitch." Why, oh dear, why?!!
10:01pm: Tharanga Paranavitana begins in Sehwagian fashion - a lovely cover drive to the boundary and the run-fest has begun! Zaheer Khan (ZAK) bowls his first (of many, I am sure) no-balls in the series. Dude, bowling's your primary skill in life. How can you still keep bowling no-balls. You need to go and chat to Ranadeb Bose, who has not bowled a front-foot no-ball in his entire career.
10:06pm: ZAK is swinging the ball in and out, but not close enough to the batsman to trouble him just yet. Now it is Sreesanth to bowl to Tillakaratne Dilshan. I fear Dilshan more than any other Sri Lankan batsman right now for the same reason opposing teams fear Virender Sehwag more than they do Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar.
In the first Test I had a regular feature, a Milestone Watch. I need a new angle to keep me interested in between the overs. So, here's the new shtick:
Random Factoid That Not Many Know: Ranadeb Bose has bowled over 18,000 balls in his career without bowling a no-ball.
10:15pm ZAK has bowled 7 balls in this Test and already has bowled 2 no-balls. Tharanga helps himself to another square-driven boundary. Tharanga's scores in his career so far make for interesting reading. In 9 of his 16 innings he has scored between 15 and 50, indicating an ability to get going and then throw it away as he has just 2 fifties in his career. Surely, he needs a big score here to have any shot at a longer stint in Test cricket.
10:21pm: Sri Lanka 13 for no loss in 3 overs.
10:22pm: Sreesanth is getting more movement off the wicket than in the air but not enough so far to trouble either batsman. India has three slips - SRT, VVS Laxman, and Dravid at 1,2, and 3 - for Sreesanth.They also have a third man in place. A big gap at covers (rightly so) and Dilshan drives beautifully through it for four to end the over. Good sign for both teams.
10:25pm: SMG points out that India has not bowled a single bouncer so far, content to bowl up to the batsman inviting the drive. Good pick up. ZAK is settling into his rhythm now but Tharanga is not having any problems picking him up, flicking through (yes through) square-leg for a four. And as I type that, ZAK produces a beauty just beating the outside edge with a prodigious outswinger. Ooof, that was close.
Sri Lanka 25 for no loss in 5 overs, Tharanga 17, Dilshan 6.
10:29pm: If India wants to get to the #1 ranking, this is the way to do it. Let Sri Lanka have the first (and best) use of the wicket and then see if a team that has aspiration for the top spot can overcome that. If they cannot they are not ready to be #1 yet. Murali Vijay shows off his fielding skills on the long-leg boundary, sliding around and converting a boundary into a couple of runs.
10:30pm: Thirty minutes into the day's play, comes the first bouncer. Good bounce good carry, easily negotiated by Tharanga. Follow-up ball is another bouncer from Sreesanth, easily evaded again. Tharanga feasts on the last ball, a yorker and clips it through midwicket for a four.
10:40pm: Sr Lanka moves along serenely to 42 for no loss in 9 overs. Tharanga has raced along to 32, Dilshan on 7. Tharanga looks like he can bat all day, but he has shown this before in this series itself.
10:48pm: Dilshan smashes a bouncer from Sreesanth over long-leg for a huge six. Take that, Mr. Sreesanth. The next ball is also shorter and pulled away emphatically for a four. Sri Lanka wades past 50 in the 10th over.
10:53pm: Oooh, lovely cover drive by Paranavithana and then the last ball fetches 5 overthrows. Sr Lanka motoring along here to 65 for no loss in 11 overs.
10:59pm: Harbhajan Singh on to bowl now with just a slip (Dravid) and a forward short-leg. Grrr... Short mid-off comes in now. Better. Harbhajan is looping it up for now. Tharanga is content to pat him away. Maiden. Tharanga 41, Dilshan 21.
11:14pm: Took a short food break. In the meantime Tharanga moves on to 48, Dilshan to 25, and Sri Lanka to 76 for no loss in 16 overs. Sweet.
11:22pm: This is interesting in that there is just enough for the bowlers but the batsmen are too good right now for it to affect them unduly.
11:23pm: First Pragyan Ojha sighting. Same field as for Economy Singh, a slip and forward short-leg. I find this strange. Until the batsmen show that they are not in any trouble and are willing to attack, I'd keep the fielders hemmed in. Tharanga sweeps fine and gets to his 50. As good a half century as any in the series so far. Serene is the word that comes to mind.
Random Factoid That Not Many Know: The first Indian bowler to take 5 wickets in an ODI on more than one occasion was ..... Krishnamachari Srikkanth! )In fact, Javagal Srinath is the onle other Indian bowler to have taken 5 wickets in an ODI more than once).
11:27pm: Dilshan attacks Ojha, obviously part of a plan to disrupt his bowling and not let him settle into a run-restricting line. Two consecutive shimmies down the wicket for boundaries. Centuries for the taking here for the batsmen.
Sri Lanka 87 for no loss, Tharanga 51, Dilshan 29.
11:30pm: Oh dear! Economy Singh now bowling to three close-in fielders and the rest spread on the boundary for Dilshan. *sigh* You've taken 337 wickets in your career, Economy, Show some guts. Come on, MS Dhoni, force him to be braver.
11:38pm: Tharanga gives it away...edges to Dravid at first slip and Harbhajan Singh has struck. Loose, loose drive and the simplest catch of Dravid's career for sure. Tharanga does it again, poor guy.
93 for 1 in 20 overs. Kumar Sangakkara comes in, Dilshan is on 37.
11:41pm: Ojha reaps the benefit of that wicket with Dilshan playing him cautiously now. By the way, that dismissal by Harbhajan was picture perfect for a left-handed batsman, drawing him forward on the drive and getting the edge to slip. Keep that up, Harbhajan!
11:46pm: Harbhajan bowls a B-E-A-U-T-Y drifting into Sangakkara and then spinning away towards first slip. That turned almost a foot and a half. And in the next over, Ojha does the same thing to Dilshan. Great sight, this. Game on.
11:49pm: Dhoni brings in a backward short-leg for Sangakkara and it nearly pays off, as he flicks on the bounce to him! Over negotiated and the Sri Lankan 100 is on the board, Dilshan on 40.
11:50pm: Harbhajan gets a second slip in place now. Good. Sehwag at mid-off misfields to get Sangakkara a pressure-relieving single.
11:54pm: Sangakkara plays Ojha from the pitch of the ball and dances his way out of the strike. Dilshan prefers to sit back and drive away from his body. The ball takes the outside edge and races past second slip for a four. The rest of the over is played more cautiously by Dilshan with the bat not straying too far from the pads.
11:57pm: Dilshan drives flamboyantly and gets an inner-edge onto the pads on successive balls. Harbhajan is bowling very well here. What a welcome sight. Mutthaiah Miralitharan will enjoy bowling on this pitch, for sure. Dilshan replies by paddle-sweeping successive balls and gets to his 50. Well done. The cat and mouse game continues. Will Harbhajan bring in a leg slip now? Yes, he does. Cool. Dilshan defends on the move.
Sri Lanka 1165 for 1 in 26 overs, Dilshan on 51, and Sangakkara on 9.
12:01am: Ojha is still flighting the ball, unfazed by the runs he has given up so far. Dilshan content to stay in his crease and play him off the backfoot so far in this over. More of the same. The crowd goes berserk as SRT stops the ball at cover and that takes us to lunch.
117 for 1 in 27 overs, Dilshan on 51, Sangakkara on 10. The first session firmly to Sri Lanka. Impressive batting performance so far. Harbhajan 8-1-19-1 and Ojha 6-0-28-0. About right for the session so far based on how the duo have bowled.
I shall take a break now and stretch my fingers. In the meantime I leave you with this:
Random Factoid That Not Many Know: Ricky Ponting has been involved in 91 Test wins for Australia. However he is still the record holder for the highest score made by a batsman in a losing cause. He has lost only 23 out of 137 Tests, of which 10 are against India.
12:42am: Harbhajan to continue after lunch to two slips and a forward short-leg to Sangakkara. Sangakkara is not biting just yet. Must have had a filling lunch. Maiden to start the proceedings.
12:45am: Ojha continues with the same field to Dilshan. Dilshan looks more prepared to use his feet. No runs yet but the will come soon. Fifth ball, he manages to reach the pitch of the ball and drive it to long-off for a singe. Easy does it. Sangakkara's helmet is very wierdly shaped. I hope it never catches on.
And as I "research" the helmet, I find that is a new-age cricket helmet. Interesting.
12:52am: First really bad ball from Ojha, short outside the off-stump and Sangakkara helps himself to his first boundary. Sangakkara then steps down the wicket and drives it nicely past midwicket for another boundary. Is he on the move now? NO! Ojha gets him to flick on the leg-side to MS Dhoni, who takes a sharp, smart catch!
Sangakarra fails again in India. Out for 18, his highest score in India remains 44. Sri Lanka 128 for 2 in 31 overs, Dilshan still hanging around on 54. Mahela Jayawardene to the crease. Nice spin for Ojha.
12:56am: Better field for Harbhajan. Forward and backward short-leg along with a slip. Dilshan still manges to get through them for a single. Mahela plays away the rest of the over.
1:02am: Ojha is bowling well now, troubling Mahela beating him with a couple of sharply-spinning balls.
Random Factoid That Not Many Know: Waqar Younis is the only batsman in Test history to have amassed more than 1000 Test runs without scoring a fifty.
1:08am: Dilshan beaten by Ojha with a beauty, neither forward nor back, and the ball is edged between the two slips for a four. Oooh, close! Had VVS stayed low he could have caught it. Lately, he has been rising up in his stance as the ball is bowled. Another edge, this time off Mahela, but it lands safely before it reaches second slip.
142 for 2 in 35 overs, Dilshan on 64, Mahela on 4.
1:10am: Harbhajan shifts to round the wicket to the two right-handers with the two leg-side close-in catchers. Dilshan prefers to play him off the backfoot so far. SRT is manning cow corner and fields the ball off a drive-flick.
1:14am: Dilshan tries to drive-cut and gets beaten by a sharply spinning and bouncing ball from Ojha. Two balls later Ojha rips one past a defensive Mahela. Mahela responds with an inside-out cover drive for four. Beautiful stuff by all 4 - Dilshan, Mahela, Harbhajan and Ojha.
150 for 2 in 37 overs. Dilshan on 66, Mahela on 10.
1:17am: Harbhajan Singh bowls a bad ball from over the wicket - flat, fast, short, outside the off-stump. Dilshan says thank you! Next one is looped up and a flying sweep for four is the response. Dilshan on the move now. Harbhajan switches back to round the wicket and a fast ball outside leg-stump is flicked away for a single. Economy Singh is peeking out now. Take a deep breath, Habhajan. Aargh! From over the wicket, he overpitches outside the off-stump and Mahela punches it to cover for four. A boundary blitz is on.
163 for 2, Dilshan on 75, Mahela on 14.
1:21am: Ojha gets the outer half of Mahela's bat but it flies safely on the bounce to point. Ends the over by bowling on the middle stump to Dilshan who scurries to defend. Dilshan looks so much better when he is attacking rather than defending. Shastri recommends that Ojha slip into a middle stump line as he is getting some good spin. As if on cue, Ojha proceeds to bowl four balls on that line. This is good stuff.
1:24am: Notorious partnership-breaker Yuvraj Singh is into the attack with just one slip and a forward short-leg in place with the rest of the men talking to the fans in the stands. Russell Arnold reminds us about Yuvrakj's partnership-breaking abilities. If you repeat something often enough it takes on a life of its own, doesn't it?
1:28am: Ojha starts by pitching outside the off-stump and spinning away. Mahela helps it along to the point boundary. Shasti points out that SRT on the boundary is fielding where a cover drive would be hit, a shot you want the batsman to be playing with the spin there is. He intuits that it would be better to leave that gap and move him squarer to entice the batsman into the drive.
1:30am: Sreesanth replaces Yuvraj after one over. Time for Sreesanth to do better than he did in the first spell where he was too wide of the batsmen. Conventional field - two slips and a gully. And he gets the ball to swing away from the batsman after pitching. Encouraging signs. Now he needs to get the ball onto the off-stump line to make it work. Gets closer but far enough away for Mahela to let it go again. Low 130's so far for Sreesanth. The third ball was on leg-stump but defended in front of off by Mahela. Good. Fourth ball is wide and swinging wider away, collected in front of first slip. Wasted ball. Fifth ball is a repeat of the third one and a quick single is taken. And the sixth is the same, defended away.
173 for 2 in 41 overs, Mahela is on MJ, while Dilshan is MJ away from 100.
Shastri is in his elements, discussing field positions for the left-armer and suggesting ways in which Ojha can attack. This is the type of stuff an expert commentator should be telling us. Something he does not do often enough.
1:40am: Sreesanth is now dipping them into Mahela in the high 130's and is moving it just enough to keep the batsman interested. Something's got to give. Nothing does. Drinks.
179 for 2, Mehala 28, Dilshan 77.
1:54am: Sreesanth and Ojha keeping things interesting with just enough movement to keep the bowling team interested. (Note to self: find a new word to replace "interested"). But the batsmen are just too good right now to fall for it.
2:02am: Against the grain, Mahela goes to pull Sreesanth and the extra bit of bounce and pace gets him to top edge to deep fine-leg where Sehwag settles own under the ball and pouches it with a steady head. Mahela out for 29.
Sri Lanka 187 for 3 in 47.4 overs, Dilshan on 84. Thilan Samaraweera enters. Slight pressure on Sri Lanka. Sreesanth is given a leg-slip and Thilan sends the ball past him to get off zero.
MS Dhoni turns to Harbhjan Singh now, replacing Ojha. Harbhajan bowls with a leg-slip and forward short-leg with a slip in place.
2:08am: And Harbhajan strikes first ball!! Typicl off-spinner's dismissal, spinning in, taking the edge and off the pad to the forward short-leg fielder. Thilan Samaraweera walks. India comes roaring back into it. Something did give.
188 for 4, Dilshan still around on 84, Angelo Mathews the new man in.
Harbhajan nearly gets Dilshan. Ooooooh, Dilshan goes to cut the ball and misses and it just climbs over the middle stump. Wow. Harbhajan is bowling well here. Short mid-on is also added to the leg-side field. Harbhajan is looping them in in the mid 8o's now. Always a good sign for him.
2:23am Sreesanth's fine spell - 5-1-7-1 comes to an end as ZAK comes in to bowl. Oh goodness, he bowls a Harmison special, almost directly to first slip, called a wide. Next ball is barely inside that line but not censured by the umpire. Dilshan is batting on 87. Bad news for Aussies, but surely not for Asians. The next two balls are on the stumps and also in the mid 130's. ZAk does take a few balls to get into rhythm. A lazy Sehwag lets the last ball go past him at gully to the boundary to give Mathews some respite.
Random Factoid That Not Many Know: Zaheer Khan has made the highest score by a #11 batsman in Test history (75 against Bangladesh).
2:27am: Dilshan is stepping out to Harbhajan to nullify the turn. Sweeps hard again but finds Laxman in the way at leg-slip. He lunges at the ball and pushes it to deep point for a couple to bring up the 200 for Sri Lanka. Another similar effrt moves Dilshan into the 90's. Harbhajan is bowling to a 3-6 field.
202 for 4 in 53 overs. Dilshan 91, Mathews 5.
2:31am: ZAK's radar is much better now, honing in on the stumps. Speed is in the low 130's so he is looking to beat him with movement not speed. As I say that the speed climbs to the high 130's. Over negotiated easily.
205 for 4 in 55 vers, Diilshan on 92, Mathews on 7.
2:39am: Ojha replaces the generally ineffective ZAK. Two slips and a silly point for Mathews. Pakced off-side field and Ojha slips into second Test mode. Good, tight bowling now. As I say that he stays down the leg-side and gives up a single. Dilshan comes charging down and smashes a six over long-on. Sehwagian. 99 to Dilshan now. Dishan steps out, gets beaten comprehensively and just survives as the ball hits the pads and goes to first slip. Ooooh.
213 for 4. Dilshan on 99, Mathews on 7. That's tea on the first day. This session surely goes to India but for Dilshan. runs for 3 wickets. Dilshan is still there so Sri Lanka's hopes rest on him not being satisfied with a century.
Random Factoid That Not Many Know: Glenn McGrath played in 4 World Cups (1996, 1999, 2003, and 2007, winning the last three and reaching the finals in 1996). In those 4 World Cups he played 39 matches and batted just 4 times. In those four times he faced a total of 5 balls and was not out on 3 occasions - 0*. 0, 0*, and 3*. I can think of no better indication of Australian dominance than THAT.
3:05am: Back after tea and Harbhajan is promptly driven to the cover boundary for a four by Mathews. Later in the over, Dilshan cuts away to get to his century, his 6th of the year. The fifth ball nearly produces a wicket as Mathews top edges to deep fine-leg where it goes on the bounce to Ojha who then misfields to give up the four.
225 for 4, in 57 overs. Dilshan 102, Mathews 17.
3:15am: Patience is not Harbhajan's strong suit. Ojha fumbles the ball at deep fine-leg and he lets loose. The last ball edged agonisingly close to Laxman's right at leg slip and rolls awa for four. The 50 of the partnership comes up in just 65 balls. Sr Lanka motoring along here.
3:18am: Shastri says a fast bowler should bowl and MS Dhoni responds by bringing Sreesanth back into the attack. Bowling full on the stumps now. Played away easily by the batsmen.
3:26am: Sreesanth is getting some late movement away from the batsmen but is not bowling it close enough to the stumps to interest them. When he does, Mathews edges the ball through the gap between slip and gully for a four. Now he goes to hook th ball and gets it through the same gap for another four. So close.
3:35am: Sri Lanka appears to have weathered the storm and the runs are flowing since tea. 41 runs in 7 overs. ZAK into the attack and his loosener (surprise, surprise) is sent smashing to the point boundary by Mathews. The rest of the over poses no further problems.
259 for 4 in 65 overs. Dilshan 109, Mathews has raced away to 44.
3:42am: Harbhajan gets a gift. Atrocious decision by the umpire, Nigel Long I believe. It looked not out even as they were appealing for a catch at forward short-leg. Oh no, the replays confirm that the ball was nowhere near the bat. But Dilshan has to go. There is no referral system in this Test series.
262 for 5, Dilshan out for 109 (160 balls), Mathews on 47. Prasanna Jayawardene comes in.
3:46am: ZAK onsolidates the breakthrough with a maiden to Mathews. Harbhajan Singh will like as it means that he gets to bowl to Prasanna. And bowl he does...on the leg-stump to get flicked away for a single. Mathews then sweeps fine for a splendid 50 in just 61 balls with 9 fours. Good job. Another 150 to go. Another edge, another gapper to third man for four.
273 for 5 in 68 overs. Prasanna on 5, Mathews on 52.
3:58am: Prasanna deposits Harbhajan behind square-leg for a six. This is one of his favorite shots - the slog sweep. Naturally, now a second man goes to the square-leg boundary. Just what he wanted. The last ball is deflected off the thigh pad to the fence and the batsman is gifted 4 runs by the umpire. Prasanna does not complain. I am sure he would have had a catch been taken and he given out. Dilshan knows what I mean.
Finally ZAK gets some reverse swing from round the wicket, moving the ball away from Prasanna's bat, beating him comprehensively.
4:13am: Ojha replaces Harbhajan Singh. Ojha, who had such a wonderful time in the second Test has not bowled a single maiden. Clearly a strategy that the Sri Lankans have adopted this time to not let Ojha settle into it. Also, they are getting to play him in the first innings without having a big total dangling above their heads.
4:20am: ZAK and Ojha are keeping it tight, not giving much width to the batsmen. Looks like the Indians are going to test the patience of the Sri Lankans to see if the batsmen have the patience to watch away the tight, restrictive line. Mathews feasts on a short one outside the stumps from Ojha, even as I type that.
295 for 5 in 72 overs. Prasanna on 20, Mathews on 60.
Yuvraj Singh is brought in. With 8 overs to go for the new ball, I suspect this is a way to give ZAK a break before the final attack for the day. Yuvraj is taken for a couple of boundaries by Prasanna to take Sri Lanka past 300 now. Good day's work so far, just a couple more wickets than they would have been comfortable with losing.
4:27am: Ojha finally gets a maiden. A just reward for bowling 6 balls on middle-stump spinning away to the off-stump. Mathews is in a sort of a shell here. Which is fine as long as Prasanna is scoring more freely and Angelo does not let it affect his composure. Ojha's reward is to get replaced by Harbhajan. Fair enough, actually, as he did look like he was tiring. Harbhajan is coming over the wicket and looking to loop it into the off-stump. Prasanna reaches 1000 runs in Test cricket with a Yuvraj misfield at short midwicket.
50 run partnership in 72 balls between the two. Good batting. All day the Lankans have done this but they do not have a century partnership yet on the day. This one needs to kick on and be a big one as the rest of the batsmen are not expected to score big.
Ojha comes on from the other end. Swapping ends before the fast bowlers come back with the new ball. Just a simple over yielding one single.
4:40am: Harbhajan does not look happy or excited. He has bowled 27 overs today. At the other end, Ojha flights one up and gets an outside edge just beyond Dravid's reach at slip. Another boundary for Prasanna. And his belligerence gets the better of him. Looking to loft Ojha he finds Harbhajan at mid-on for an easy catch. Prasanna throws it away needlessly. I am talking about the shot he attempted. He could just as easily tried to keep it down and driven it in the same area and been better off.
329 for 6 in 80 overs. Jayawardene out for 43. Mathews on 67. Partnership of 67 in 15 overs.
Sri Lanka will rue not getting more runs on the board from well-set batsmen.
ZAK is back in the attack. Surely the new ball is not that far away now. And it is. ZAK immediately gets the ball to go with the angle, beating Mathews who was moving forward and got caught in mid-stride but did not edge the ball. Oh, Nuwan Kulasekara is the new batsman. He does have a high score of 64 in Tests.
4:52am: Sreesanth bowls the most atrocious wide ball imaginable down the leg-side and the keeper is penalized for it with 4 byes. Ridiculous umpiring. That ball was aimed where second slip would be to a left-hander. Another ball on the leg-stump and Kulasekara gets his first runs with a simple flick to the boundary. Then Sreesanth tests Dhoni on the off-side. This time the umpire calls it a wide. He ends the over with another wide ball that is sliced away to third man for another 4. Ridiculous over. Just ridiculous in all aspects.
344 for 6 in 82 overs. Mathews on 69, Kulasekara on 8.
5:01am: ZAK induces the edge but it flies over second slip for a four. Things going the Mathews' way today. Numerous edges have flown into gaps and open spaces. Just the luck he needs, I think. Another edge that lands just short of first slip.
5:04am: Sreesanth continues and bowls wide down the leg-side again. Sreesanth is getting hit pretty badly when he does pitch it on the stumps. Vijay unfurls a Kumble dive of the highest quality and watches the ball go to the mid-off boundary.
358 for 6 in 84 overs. Mathews on 79, Kulasekara on 12.
5:12am: ZAK finally strikes with the last ball of his 18th over, getting the ball to slide away from Kulasekara and the faint edge is taken very low near first slip by Dhoni. 98 catches for the captain, by the way, in Tests.
359 for 7 in 85 overs. Mathews is on 80, Kulasekara gone for 12. Rangana Herath comes in as a nightwatchman for Murali.
5:15am: Harbhajan gives up an easy single to Mathews in order to get Herath on strike. 5 balls, potentially, at him. Nothing doing. Apart from a strong shout for LBW not much to worry the Sri Lankans.
5:19am: ZAk continues to Herath, who took a single off the last ball of the last over. ZAK hasn't bowled a no-ball in a while. It's got to be around the corner, for sure. Three slips for ZAK. Over ends with no further damage to either side.
5:25am: Rangana Herath goes to sweep Harbhajan and only manages a top edge to Dravid's left at slip. Taken with both hands inches off the ground by the leading catcher in Test history. Herath walks even before the fielders can start appealing. The third Sri Lankan to walk off quickly today. Murali to bat now. This will be fun.
362 for 8, Mathews on 82.
Random Factoid That Not Many Know: When Mohammad Azharuddin's career came to a premature end, he was the world record holder for most ODI runs and most ODI half-centuries.
5:30am: Yuvraj Singh to bowl the penultimate over of the day. Mathews will surely look to play it away for a maiden. Right? So far it seems that way until the last ball when he waltzes down the wicket and slams the ball to the long-on boundary for four to go to 86.
And that is stumps. Sri Lanka are at 366 for 8 in 89 overs. Mathews on 89, Murali on 0.
Most runs by a visiting team on the opening day of a Test match, informs Sivaramakrishnan.
Okay. I will come back later today and write a summary paragraph. Now it is time t catch a couple of hours of sleep.
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