Test 2: India Sri Lanka at Kanpur
The experts predicted that the surface of the pitch would begin to show cracks by the 3rd day of the Test match. The cracks appeared right on cue, not on the pitch but rather in the batting facade of the Sri Lankans.
Faced with backing out of a 642 run hole with three full days to go, the batsmen seemed unsure of whether to attack or defend their way out of it. Naturally, they were trapped in between. Sreesanth reaped the rewards of coming in all day bowling in the 135-140kmph range. Yes, he was quite threatening but the balls that got the wickets were not that special, except for the 5th one, which was a beauty to get Herath. He will be the recipient of reams and reams of newsprint devoted to him with the words reformed, redemption, and refocused featuring prominently in them. I will believe that he has reformed only 5 years from now, not based on one innings. He has lost a lot of things in his life in the time spent outside the Test team but he has not lost the most important thing - that incredibly unwavering seam position of the ball when it leaves his hand.
At the other end, Pragyan Ojha was living up to his billing with a display of bowling that was remarkable for two things - his control over line and length and his fearlessness in flighting it into the spot he wanted to. In 154 overs the Sri Lankans managed 11 maidens. In just 23 overs, Ojha managed 12. The wickets he got were not because of some fantastic balls but more because of the control and tight line he maintained. It was fitting that his first wicket in Tests was of Mahela Jayawardene, caught by Tendulkar.
With 4 wickets gone for next to nothing, Sri Lanka is trailing by 356 runs with 180 overs to go. Unless they can conjure up something magical, this Test is done and dusted. If this Test ends with an innings victory, I fear that the BCCI will mandate such a flat track for the next Test it will be stillborn even before it starts. At stake for India is the #1 Test ranking (India will reach #1 with a 2-0 series win) and, hopefully, that may spur Daljit Singh, the head curator, into letting the pitch be.
This week has been a comeback for three fast bowlers - Mohammad Asif, Shane Bond, and Sreesanth - and all three of them have shown glimpses of why they were missed. Here's hoping they can sustain it for years to come. Test cricket will be so much richer for it.
4 comments:
He will be the recipient ...the words reformed, redemption, and refocused ...
You forgot the word "prodigal".
I will wait for a couple more series before declaring him sane.
L, I was actually being alliterative when I wrote that. But, yes, prodigal is also a word that features prominently.
I am less forgiving of the fellow, though, and it will take more than a couple of series to convince me he has accepted substance over style.
so no ball-by-ball on the last day's play?
BF/DSC/BD, I did not do any ball-by-ball for this Test, just reviews at the end of the day. I am writing one up now. The issue is that I want to write one that is different from ones you will find on CricInfo or any newspaper. I will belt one out soon, I promise. (I was watching WVU beat Pitt and then WI-Australia and Pakistan-New Zealand and also a movie, so it was a hectic evening).
I will do ball-by-ball for the third Test, for sure. I did not know if people enjoyed the first match (warning: if it sounds like I am fishing for compliments, then you are half-right. I am just looking for validation that you do find it worthwhile to read the next day!!)
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