Mr. Inevitable, meet Mr. Indomitable

Test 2: India Sri Lanka at Kanpur

That India would win the second Test on the 4th day of play was a foregone conclusion (in my mind, at least). The question was what the margin would be. Innings defeats have a wonderful way of unearthing an innings of rare brilliance that lightens up the day even as the overall result is never in doubt. There are way too many examples to jot them down here. Invariably, the next day's reports talk about how one batsman showed the way and if only the other batsmen had applied themselves just as well. After a round of sighs and commiserations, life goes on.

Thilan Samaraweera threatened to play such an innings and, unfortunately for him, got derailed because Ajanta Mendis suddenly looked like an accomplished batsman and Thilan's sense of urgency died with that and he was content to push along in singles and twos. As soon as Mendis was snaffled, the other wickets went by too quickly for a stat-padding century. Oh well.

Harbhajan Singh may have ended up with the most wickets but apart from one brief period when he fizzled from round the wicket, the Economy Singh of late was much too evident. Pragyan Ojha did not do anything drastic, pounding away on off and outside off, tying down the runs and reaping the rewards at the end for a well-deserved set of wickets. In the years to come I hope the selectors will look at the whole package and not the wickets column in gauging the utility of bowlers. And I am speaking for both Economy and Pragyan here.

I am grateful the man of the match was given to Sreesanth and not to Sehwag or Gambhir, who deserved it, too. All too often it is easy to get carried away by batting exploits. Runs will be scored aplenty in this day and age but bowlers need to be rewarded, too. After all, they do need to take 20 wickets to win a Test.

Kumar Sangakkara made a tactical blunder by referring to India as the "Final Frontier" and by suggesting that the Indians are not too good when pressured. This Indian team is filled with players who have one vital attribute - they have not suffered years of debilitating losses in Tests. Sachin Tendulkar is about the only player on the team (and Dravid and Laxman to a lesser degree) who remembers those days when going into a Test the first option was draw and the second was to keep the margin of defeat to a minimum.

Much has been made of the fact that this was India's 100th Test win. Very little has been made of the fact that this was Tendulkar's 57th 52nd Test win. Think about that. India began playing Tests in 1932 and did not win its first Test till 1952. Until 1989, India had won 43 48 Tests. 57 years, 43 48 Test wins. Rahul Dravid, who made his debut in 1996, has been involved in 45 wins. So in the last 13 years, India has outdone it's first 57 years. We are fortunate to be living in a golden age for the Indian team. (Editor's note: The leader in this category is Shane Warne, who was involved in 92 Test wins. After the first Test of the current series against the West Indies, Ponting sits at 91 Test wins, and will surely cross Warne and attack 100 pretty soon.)

Consequently, by trying to evoke the ghosts of past failures, Sangakkara brought attention upon Sri Lanka's lack of success on Indian soil and the pressure is bound to get even more intense with just one Test left.

MS Dhoni's greatest attribute as a captain is that he is not overawed by the opposing team taking matters into its own hands. His calm demeanor rubs off onto the rest. The feeling he engenders is that things are under control and we do not need to panic yet. This feeling carries over into the batting and the bowling and his record of 6 wins and 3 draws attests to that. The three draws have not been run of the mill draws. India has come through and batted out a draw in each of those cases when defeat was a possibility.

If I am Sri Lanka, this is what I do - retain the same side. Risk losing the Test in order to get a win. It means batting hard, fast, and aggressively. It means bowling to attacking fields. Forget protecting the boundaries. The Indians are actually quite content to milk singles if they are offered on a platter. Yes, even Sehwag. In fact, especially Sehwag. Gautam Gambhir is not available for this Test, so attack Murali Vijay. But be warned, he is no mug with the bat as his debut performance against the Australians showed. Still, putting pressure on the Indians and sustaining the pressure are two different things. Sangakkara has shown glimpses of the former and very little of the latter.

Seriously, Sangakkara. Losing 1-0 or 2-0 makes no difference to you, but if it means possibly coming out with a 1-1 tie, then what do you have to lose?