Running diary - Day 5: Clinical India draws level

This is a running diary that I will keep updating periodically with random thoughts as and when they occur during the day's play of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka being played at Ahmedabad (November 16-20, 2009). I shall keep it in chronological order so the latest additions will be at the tail end of the diary. Also, since this is being done on the fly, excuse the spelling and grammatical mistakes.

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

Running diary - Day 4: Two-faced teams

Day 5

At the start of the last day's play the situation is this: India is 192 for 2 in 45 overs, trailing by 144, Gambhir on 74, Mishra on 12.

The match has boiled down to a simple game - if Sri Lanka does not take 8 more wickets, the Indians will have spent a day on the field padding their batting averages. For India, it is imperative that Amit Mishra stays at the crease for a long time, now that he is already batting. The early morning period is the best time to take wickets and if he can negotiate that tough period it will help his teammates immensely.

As the day goes along, if India is able to thwart the Sri Lankans, then the commentators will start talking about "moral victories" and that ephemeral concept - momentum - heading into the next Test. Amit Mishra's fate will be discussed and possible teams for the next Test dissected. If Sri Lanka is able to prise out wickets then some old storylines will come out - too familiar to recount here.

By the way the number of wickets that Sri Lanka needs today - 8 - is more than have fallen on any day of this Test match so far (6,7,2,7 on the first 4 days).

10:00pm: Angelo Matthews starts the day's proceedings. Does it mean Dammika Prasad is indeed injured? He walked off gingerly at the end of the day's play yesterday. Matthews is on target right away, probing away at the off-stump. Gambhir is in the nip/tuck mode and looking to flick the ball to the leg-side, rather than presenting a full face. Two straight balls he presents an angled face. Gambhir counters by taking guard a foot outside the crease and presents the full face for the rest of the over. Sri Lanka gets its first maiden of the innings to start the day.

10:07pm: Welegedara from the other end and Mishra promptly deflects him to deep point for a single. The fifth ball induces the most convincing edge of the entire Test match from Mishra but it is dropped by Dilshan at second slip and it rolls away for a four. Oh dear, Sri Lanka cannot afford to be so profligate. The next ball is flick-driven away for four by Mishra to pour salt...you know what I mean.

10:12pm: Based on this innings I suggest that if his leg-spin bowling does not take off, Mishra should reinvent himself in the Ravi Shastri fashion and become a batting all-rounder. Three overs into the innings Shastri talks about replacing Mishra in the next Test. Murali Vijay, who was in the Test team for the first game and was sent back to play Ranji Trophy, has scored 140-odd for Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, Badrinath is getting paid to sit on the bench and look interested. Matthews beats Gambhir once outside the off-stump but otherwise keeps him quiet and secures his second maiden in a row. Where was he all of yesterday when the Sri Lankan bowlers were being taken to the tune of 5 runs an over? I suspect he was fielding on the boundary and thanking his stars that his bowling was not coming under the scrutiny of the selectors.

10:18pm: Gambhir opens his scoring for the day with a flick-drive to the fence. There are two slips but they are so wide apart that is like having a one-and-a-half and third slip. Welegedara now comes round the wicket. That's funny - Matthews, who has the natural angle across Gambhir, is bowling round the wicket to him, while Welegedara is going round the wicket seeking that very same angles that Matthews is eschewing.

10:21pm: The folks on TV dust up Gambhir's numbers in the second innings of a Test, something I had pointed out yesterday itself. Pshaw! And all I have are my fingers and access to CricInfo. Mishra has scored 10 of the 15 runs scored this morning. A great deal of dissection of the batting record of Indian batsmen in the 2nd innings of a Test match is going on. That old Sachin Tendulkar bogey - his performance in the 2nd innings - has raised its ugly head.

206 for 2 in 50 overs, Gambhir on 79, Mishra on 23. India trail by 128 runs with 85 overs to go.

10:27pm: Murali comes on to bowl, the start to what can well become a 43 over spell. His stamina is an underrated part of his skill set. Only one slip and forward short-leg in place , though the #10 batsman is facing him. Oh, how the mighty have fallen...or been felled by the pitch. Maiden for him, the first of the innings, and only the 5th in 41 overs in this match.

10:31pm: Matthews is getting a little reverse-swing (towards the shiny side) at about 128 kmph. Gambhir is playing away very carefully. Matthews is probing away a foot or so outside the off-stump from round the wicket. About 4 balls in the first 3 overs of his have reached the keeper on the bounce. Another maiden, the 3rd in 4 overs for him.

10:35pm: Mishra flicks a single and raises his highest score in Tests. You cannot stop him, you can only hope to contain him! Gambhir goes to pull a short ball but only manages an under-edge between his legs for a single to fine-leg. A lot of head-shaking from Gambhir. He has looked a little stiff and unsure of his footwork at times this morning. 208 for 2 in 53 overs, Gambhir on 80, Mishra on 24, India trail by 126 with 82 overs to go.

Tom Alter sighting on-screen. Is his son at the ground, too? I know his son is doing ball-by-ball commentary on CricInfo's outstanding site but I am not sure if they do it like me, via television, or on-site.

Dammika Prasad is on the field, available to bowl if necessary, informs Arnold on TV.

10:40pm: Prasanna Jayawardene is standing up to the stumps to Matthews in an attempt to stop Gambhir from playing out of his crease. He does so without a helmet and collects three straight balls. 4th maiden in 5 overs for Matthews.

10:41pm: Mishra steps out to Murali and drives back to the bowler! Defends away the next two balls. But the first ball has left its scar on Sangakkara, as he responds by placing a deep midwicket. Kumar, no one has even hit the ball there. All you have done is ensure that Mishra does not leave the crease and play a risky shot. The fact that Murali is an accomplice in this field placement does not reflect well on him either. Murali does get another maiden as a reward for that inspired piece of defensiveness. Baby steps, baby steps.

10:44pm: Matthews continues to peg away just outside the stumps to Gambhir and is patiently punched away by the lefty. A battle within a battle here. A battle that Gambhir wins when Matthews finally drifts onto the body and Gambhir promptly flicks him for a single. A leg gully in place. This is the first sign of a pro-active field placement from Sangakkara that I have witnessed in this Test match. Until now he has tended to follow the ball with his fielders.

And the leg gully pays off!! Mishra flicks right into the trap and Dilshan takes a brilliant one-handed catch low down to his right. A plan works for Sangakkara. I hope this convinces Sangakkara to keep thinking outside the box all day. He needs only 7 more such efforts to win this Test. Mishra departs after a well-compiled 24 in 51 balls.

Sachin Tendulkar finally gets to bat in this Test match. His first innings was so fleeting (just 3 balls) it barely registers in one's mind.

209 for 3 in 56 overs, Gambhir on 81, India trail by 125 with 79 overs to go.

Gary Kirsten is chewing on a bottle cap. Arnold wonders whether it is a teat and decides that Kirsten has still not lost his childhood.

10:55pm: Murali to Tendulkar. A rare happening in Test history - the top wicket-taker bowling to the top run scorer. I wonder how frequently that has happened. Tendulkar starts with a sharp single to deep mid-off.

10:57pm: The leg gully is still in place but Matthews is bowling a couple of feet outside the stumps. Surely the next ball is going to be a good length one on the leg-stump now. It is a good length ball, but on the off-stump and is watchfully defended by SRT. Tendulkar then unfurls his trademark back foot punch to the cover fence. The ball takes its own sweet time to reach the boundary teasing the sweeper point into a long wind sprint. Welegedara tries to use his foot to stop it and fails.

216 for 3 in 57 overs, Gambhir on 82, SRT on 5, India trail by 118 with 77 overs remaining.

So far today the Indians have reaped the rewards of the fast batting from yesterday. By reducing the lead to less than 150, the Sri Lankans have not been able to go on an all-out offensive and the cautious start to the day's play has not added any pressure onto the batsmen.

11:02pm: SRT just leans forward and punches the ball to the cover fence. It was hit with enough pace to keep rolling to the fence but slowly enough to interest the fielder into a long, energy-sapping chase. The last ball of the over is hit away with more power to a squarer cover area.

SRT is showing that he has the skills and the technique to last a few more years. In the Test arena I don't see why he cannot play another 5 years at least, especially considering that India plays no more that 10-12 Tests at the most in a year. He could easily prolong his career to remain solely a Test player while renting his services out for the T20 version.

After the first hour of play, India has scored 33 runs in 14 overs, losing the nightwatchman in the process. Sri Lanka leads by 109 with 75 overs to go.

11:10pm: Matthews keeps Tendulkar quiet after Gambhir pinches a single first ball.

11:13pm: Gambhir is showing more intent in the 4 balls he has played since the drinks break as he steps away to cut Murali for a four and then follows it with a hop-skip-flick to midwicket for a single. Tendulkar, on the other hand, is looking like he wants to defend everything in sight. Ominous signs this for India (and a welcome one for Sri Lanka). I wonder what was in the fluids they drank during the drinks break.

Yardely tells me not to worry and that Tendulkar will put bad balls away when they come. He does bring up the ghost of missed Tests past and says that Kirsten has assured him a negative mindset will not be the order of the day.

11:16pm: Gambhir enters the 90's with a cut to sweeper point. Damage control seems to still be on Sangakkara's mind. Tendulkar listens to me and drives away from his body. The resultant outside edge flies away through the (vacant) gully area where Welegedara completes another fruitless windsprint, this time to his left.

Obligatory SRT-related Milestone watch: When Tendulkar gets to 35, he will have reached 30,000 international runs.

11:21pm: Herath replaces Murali. Gambhir's footwork is not as assured in the first over, almost as if he is not reading the ball out of the hand and is therefore not committing himself till the ball lands and turns. Herath helps himself to a maiden while Gambhir sorts him out.

India trails by 98 with 72 overs to go.

11:25pm: Matthews is into the 10th over of this spell, having given away just 12 runs with 4 maidens and a wicket in the first 9. A watchful SRT is well on his way to padding the maiden column halfway through the over. Yup, 10-5-12-1 for Matthews now. It has really helped him that the Indians have not tried to take him on today.

11:29pm: Gambhir continues his more aggressive play, cutting Herath to the third man fence. Jumps down the wicket next ball and inner-edges onto his pads. Maybe he suffers from Sehwag-itis, too. The need to bat with more of a flourish when nerves come into play as miletones approach. Next ball is played away quietly. Next ball, he waltzes down and hammers it one bounce to the midwicket fence. Naturally, Sangakkara sends a fielder to deep midwicket. Come on captain, risk a boundary or two to buy a wicket. *sigh* The last ball is gently hit to mid-on where Murali ambles in and Gambhir very alertly takes a quick single to get to 99.

11:33pm: Prasanna comes up to the wicket to stop Gambhir from wandering down the wicket in search of that landmark. Gambhir flicks Matthews to fine-leg for a boundary, reaching his 6th ton in the last 8 Tests. Another second innings century for him. Great effort, Gauti.

100 in 188 balls, his 4th in the second innings of a Test (out of 7 total in his career). India is now just 85 runs away from Sri Lanka, 69 overs left. 249 for 3, Gambhir on 103, SRT on 17.

11:42pm: Tendulkar plays the glide-weep of his for a couple of runs off Murali, just as I was getting worried that he had gone into his pre-determined defensive shell. The next ball is punched away on the backfoot and I am breathing a little more easily again. Shastri also points out the need to not get into a totally negative mindset. Yes sir, you are right.

11:51pm: Nothing really happening on the field. Indians content to wait for the bad balls and not really showing any signs of aggression. Both Tendulkar and Gambhir are in a quiet mode. India still trails by 81 runs with 64 overs to go.

Tendulkar needs 15 runs for 30,000 international runs on the same ground where Gavaskar became the first man to 10,000 Test runs and Richard Hadlee set a world record with his 374th wicket.

11:55pm: Five minutes to lunch and Sangakkara should go all out and surround Tendulkar who is in a completely defensive shell with lunch on the horizon. Gavaskar has taught him well. Three balls negotiated, three to go from Herath. Sangakkara is definitely not a captain with ideas. The placement of a fielder at leg gully was the only innovative field placement of the day. Apart from that he has just waited and waited for something to happen. MS Dhoni's critics should note that the Indian captain was proactive the whole time even as Sri Lanka scored 700-plus runs.

11:59pm: Herath bowled so quickly, Dilshan is able to come on for the last over before lunch. Gives up two singles to the two batsmen.

India 256 for 3, 78 runs behind Sri Lanka with 61 overs to go. Gambhir on 105, SRT on 22. The morning session yielded 66 runs in 29 overs for the loss of one wicket.

Time for a dinner break. I shall be back in about half an hour.

12:47pm: Sangakkara begins with a selection from the boondocks and Tharanga Paravanitana comes on to bowl. Tharanga begins with a full toss that is smashed away to the cover boundary. A couple of singles later he makes way for Herath.

(Jamie Alter, Tom's son, is doing the live ball-by-ball commentary on CricInfo at the moment).

The new ball is 5 overs away. That may well be Sangakkara's last chance at making something of this.

12:50am: Gavaskar finally notices that the highest wicket-taker is bowling to the highest run-getter in Tests. Murali looks seriously under-cooked and nowhere near his normal self. SRT looks a little more positive-minded since lunch.

Based on his style of play in the last few overs, I get the sense that Tendulkar knows he is close to the 30,000 run mark. I will know for sure when he reaches 35.

Thanranga has disappeared after just one over. Strange punt by Sangakkara and even stranger to not try it for a few more overs. Or even Dilshan for a couple of overs. Anything to try to prise out a wicket.

1:01am: Murali bows with a slip, a silly point, a silly gully, and a deeper gully, inviting the cut shot. Instead Gambhir leans forward and drives through the vacant cover region for a four.

274 for 3 in 79 overs, India trail by 60 runs with 56 overs to go. Gambhir 114, Tendulkar 31.

Does SRT not wear a cap when he plays spinners? He is batting with all his protective gear - helmet, chest guard, elbow pad, etc., while Gambhir is simply wearing an India cap.

1:05am: Gambhir steps out and tries to hit over the top but ends up miscuing it straight and high to mid-off and Sangakkara celebrates as if he had something to do with that dismissal. Gavaskar kindly says that the mid-off being close to the batsman induced that stroke. Sure.

Gambhir departs for 114, leaving the door ajar on his way out. In comes Laxman, once again batting at #6. I hope this does not send SRT into an ultra-defensive shell like he has a few times in the recent past.

The only times the highest wicket-taker has bowled to the highest run-scorer in Tests:
January 1887, Frederick Spofforth to Arthur Shrewsbury.
2005, Shane Warne to Brian Lara in the Adelaide Test.
2009, Muttaiah Muralitharan to Sachin Tendulkar at Ahmedabad.

VVS Laxman is on a pair and he gets off it with a simple push to deep cover. Deep cover? I don't really understand Sangakkara's captaincy.

The commentators point out that Murali has never bowled more than 17 overs in the second innings of a Test match without taking a wicket. He has gone wicketless in the second innings of a Test match just 6 times! Right now he is at 25 overs and counting without a wicket.

Shastri comes in and says that Laxman will be anxious to get off the mark. (He is already off the mark, my friend).

1:14am: Murali to Laxman. By the way, AV/BRB, Laxman is back to using an SS sticker on his bat. He shows us the label 6 times in the over, giving Murali another maiden over.

India trail by 58 runs with 52 overs to go. (Unless something monumental comes up I shall give you just this countdown).

1:18am: The new ball is due but Herath has bought himself a little more time with the wicket. He now goes round the wicket to SRT, who is slowly going into that defensive danger zone peculiar to him. Herath helps the Indian cause by bowling down the leg-side contributing 4 byes to the Indian total. SRT's forward press is getting more pronounced with each ball. Surely he can pick up singles. There are so many gaps around him. *sigh* He watched the Sri Lankans put on 700 plus runs and did not learn a thing. Can you sense my frustration at this tendency of his? He can easily get the runs without any risks. I am not asking him to jump out and smash the ball, but just nudge it around in the gaps.

1:21am: Shastri deapans that what Sri Lanka need is a couple of wickets before tea. I have never heard that line of thought from him before. The new ball is taken and Welegedara will bowl. Will he go round the stumps to Laxman? No, he doesn't and Laxman picks up a single to midwicket. Ranil Abenayake continues to perpetuate the myth that Laxman just got off a pair. Sirs, he got off it first ball. He is on 2 runs now.

CricInfo cottons on to the fact that Tendulkar is close to the 30,000 run mark. Not much longer before the TV guys get wind of this, too.

1:28am: All day Prasad has been nursing his injury, hiding away in the outfield, biding his time till he could bowl with the new ball. The time is now and he is thundering in to Laxman, with a tender hamstring. He does have a deep point. Why? It is not as if Laxman is going to upper-cut to the fielder there.

Okay, I think I have made my feelings clear about Sangakkara's bizarre field placements enough times and I shall stop. If there are any pro-active changes I shall let you know. If I don't say anything, assume that he maintained status quo.

India trail by 50 runs with 49 overs to go.

Okay, let me try a new tactic here. SRT, you need 67 runs in the remaining 49 overs to get to an (ultimately meaningless) infrequent event for you - a second innings century. That way, in the future when someone starts to point out your second innings failings, they have less statistical proof to support their point of view. So go get that century, and in the years to come people will forget the circumstances it came in.

By the way, in the second innings of a Test match SRT has scored 3581 runs with 10 centuries and 15 fifties in 108 innings (including this one), at an average of 41 plus.

SRT's strike rate is at 34, Laxman's is at an anemic 13. The problem with this rate is that if a wicket were to fall the pressure on the next batsman remains quite high. Cross off the runs and get into the lead and the pressure diminishes. Aargh!!!

SRT gets that single he needs to get to 30,000 international runs and Shastri points it out on TV (the next closest is Ponting with 24,057 runs). Celebrates that achievement with a push to midwicket. Prasad chases after it gingerly and the gently rolling ball reaches the fence. The last ball of the over is a full toss and punched away to cover for a couple. The run deficit is less than the overs left for the first time in this innings. I'm hoping that the quick 6 runs that SRT got in the last two balls kickstarts him into a more positive frame of mind. And just as I say that, comes the drinks break, no doubt giving him time to slow his heart rate and get back to his sleepwalking ways.

41 runs behind, 45 overs left.

The partnerships so far in this innings: 81, 88, 40, 66, 16* Sri Lanka has not been able to take wickets in bunches.

1:49am: In spite of the injury, Prasad is bowling in the high 130's (kmph). Not quite up there with his mid-high 140's of earlier in the Test but still quite impressive. A fully healthy 21 year-old (Ishant) was reduced to bowling at 125kmph even though he was bowling in the morning yesterday after a night's rest.On the leg-side there is one guy, at mid-on close in a single-saving position. On the off-side there are 2 slips, a cover and mid-off stopping the single.

Today's play: 45 overs, 104 for 3 at 2.3 runs per over.

Prasad has just an over or two more of work left in the Test before he can go to the pavilion and relax!!

1:53am: Welegedara goes round the wicket to Laxman, who gently guides it to the third man fence for his first boundary. Welegedara responds with a harmless bouncer, easily evaded by Laxman. Matthews is limbering up. Maybe Prasad's chance to put his feet up and avoid the mid-day sun is closer than I thought.

33 runs, 44 overs to go.

1:58am: No, Prasad continues. Just a generic over, played out calmly by both batsmen to the tune of 4 runs.

2:02am: Spin comes in form of Herath. Another ho-hum over enlivened by a ball down the leg-side that goes on to fetch 4 byes to India.

2:09am: Arnold announces that Murali indicated to him that he is going to retire from Test cricket after the home series against West Indies next November. Sri Lanka is not slated to play any Tests between now and then, would you believe it? So this is going to be the last time we will see Murali in Tests outside India. Only two more Tests left for him abroad after this. He needs 14 wickets for 800 in Tests. Phenomenal. (Editor's note: Emphasis added by bolding the text in the above paragraph as it is significant news to me).

India trail by 21 runs with 40 overs to go.

2:15am: Another ball keeps low down the leg-side and the keeper is unjustly adjudged to have given away 4 byes. Murali should think of this as a practice session for Mohali Kanpur and get into a rhythm without worrying any more about getting wickets. The Mohali pitch has a lot more bounce and that will be more to his liking.

15 runs behind 38 overs to go.

2:18am: The crowd is cheering every run like it is a boundary. Poor souls. They came in hoping for fireworks and are getting a steady diet of poppers. The crowd comes alive as SRT fulfills his date with destiny and reaches 50, his 54th in Tests. 50 more to get, 37 overs to go.

Quick score update: India is 322 for 4 in 97 overs, Tendulkar on 50 and Laxman on 15.

2:25am: Herath, bowling round the wicket into the rough, beats Tendulkar two straight balls. Gavaskar reckons that this is because SRT has slipped into a defensive shell. Shastri suggests that the thought of tea being a few minutes away may have contributed to this. How surprising. But the next time the great man is interviewed he will spout the same old lines about playing each ball on its merit.

15 minutes to tea.

2:27am: SRT and Laxman are easily picking up singles to the square-leg region as it is Murali's turn to stray onto the pads. Dhiraj Parsana, a member of the BCCI's Pitches and Grounds committee, is the man responsible for this pitch, which Shastri calmly says is good enough for another 600 runs. I hope he does not get anywhere near the pitches for the next two Tests.

India trail by 6 runs, 34 overs to go.

Even though there are 34 overs to go, in reality the two captains can agree to call the match off after 75 overs. So, Sachin has about 19 overs, realistically speaking, to get close enough to a 100 to convince the captains to continue for just a little while longer. (Editor's note: How prescient of me!).

2:35am: Laxman wakes up briefly to punch a full toss from Murali to the cover fence. India trails by 2 runs now at almost the stroke of tea.

2:36am: SRT takes a single to square-leg and India is a run behind. Yuvraj Singh is getting a massage in the pavilion. He has the Abhishek Bachchan look going for him now. Laxman is keeping the crowd on their toes, refusing to do anything more than pat the ball away, until the last ball where he hits a single to cover to tie the scores.

India will not lose by an innings. This is a rearguard of historic proportions. All over the country, a billion people exhale and relax a little bit. A billion people then offer prayers that SRT gets to a century. The billion people also probably don't care one bit about the exact state of affairs of this game.

3:38am: Laxman guides a doosra from Murali to the third man region for the rarest of entries in any Laxman inning - three runs. India has the lead now. Murali bowls a no-ball off the last ball of the session, prolonging the proceedings. Laxman takes the last ball and places it to third man, for a couple this time.

India are at 341 for 4 in 104 overs, Tendulkar on 55, Laxman on 28. India lead by 7 runs with 31 overs to go. The partnership is at 66 runs now.

81, 88, 40, 66, 66* are the 5 partnerships in this innings. Shastri calls this a "fantastic" pitch. A billion people stop what they are doing to stare at him with incredulity. 1527 runs, for 21 wickets at an average of 73 runs per wicket. And that average is hindered by the fact that India had two sets where they lost 4 for 32 and 4 for 47 runs. Take that away, and you get a scarcely believable 111 runs per wicket and Shastri thinks it is a fantastic wicket.

To keep my interest going in the post-tea phase, I shall start a countdown to two milestones. Tendulkar needs 45 runs to get to 100 and Laxman needs 22 to get to 50.

My vote for the man of the match is Welegedara, who injected the only bit of life into this Test with his brilliant effort on the first morning.

3:10am: Yes, Tendulkar is definitely aiming for that century now. The first 4 balls after tea have been: a pull shot for a single, a paddle sweep for four (off Herath), a shimmy down the track for a four to midwicket, and then a fierce cut to third man for a single (off Murali). 10 runs in 4 shots, just like that.

35 runs to get for SRT, 21 runs to get for Laxman.

3:13am: Laxman is still in the semi-defensive mode and the crowd is getting restless as the want to see the strike with the Man Who Carries The Hopes Of A Billion People On His Shoulders.

35 to get for SRT, 28 to get for Laxman, 28 overs to go (potentially only 13).

3:17am: The first genuinely happy smile that I have seen from Murali bursts through as he gets Laxman to tickle down the leg-stump but too low for Prasanna to catch. No harm done. One single to SRT, though.

34 to get for SRT, 28 to get for Laxman, 27 overs to go (potentially only 12).

3:19am: Tendulkar takes a single off the first ball. Can Laxman get off the crease and get SRT back? The second and third ball do not fetch anything but pushes straight to fielders. Tries a hoick across the line but misses the 4th ball completely. The 5th ball is defended away and the sixth ball is hit straight to cover.

Expect SRT to take more risks now that he and Laxman are in the 1:5 balls played per over ratio.

3:22am: SRT defends the first ball from Murali. I sense a reverse sweep coming on pretty soon. Murali is starting to get some fizz off the pitch and there is appreciable spin and bounce for him now. Where was this three hours ago when they could have used it? SRT flicks a single off the 4th ball, and Laxman defends the 5th one and takes a single off the last ball of the over.

32 to get for SRT, 17 for Laxman, 25 overs to go, (potentially only 10).

3:26am: Sivaramakrishnan calls this a "very, very good pitch." Laxman belies him by defending the first two balls from Herath as if the balls were going to explode off the pitch. The third ball is hit straight to cover and the crowd starts to get restless. The fourth ball confuses him and induces an inside edge to square-leg for a single. The same thing happens to SRT and he gets a single, too. One ball to go. Defended by Laxman and the Blue Billion heave a sigh of relief that SRT is on strike for the next over.

3:29am: SRT gets an outside edge to third man for one run. Murali has never bowled so long in the second innings of a Test without getting a wicket. Laxman flicks beautifully but cannot beat deep midwicket. Now, finally, Sangakkara brings his field in. What is that saying about barn doors and locking them after the horse has bolted? Laxman picks up the doosra and cuts it to the point fence.

30 runs to get for SRT, 12 runs to get for Laxman, 23 overs to go (potentially only 8).

SRT may have decided to give up the ghost of the century now. He defends the first ball and takes a single to long-off for the second. Can Laxman give him the strike? He let's the third ball go through the keeper, defends the fourth one, flicks a single to midwicket off the fifth one. Can SRT get a single? Yes, he can. Over gaaji.

28 runs to get for SRT, 11 runs for Laxman, 22 overs to go (potentially only 7).

3:37am: Single off the second ball for SRT, yet another single to square-leg. Laxman cannot pierce the field off the next four balls and the pressure builds, what little there is. SRT must be getting frustrated on the inside at the lack of strike.

27 to get for SRT, 11 runs for Laxman, 21 overs to go (potentially only 6).

3:40am: SRT punches handsomely off the backfoot to deep midwicket for a couple of runs and retains strike. Flicks a single off the next ball to get to 76. Laxman is able to punch away to deep cover for 1 run to give back the strike, the first time he's been able to do so promptly in ages. SRT defends a good ball on the off-stump, probably looking to take a single off the last ball of the over, which he fails to do so. And that is because he pierces the fielders in the midwicket region and gets a boundary for his efforts instead.

20 runs to get for SRT, 10 runs for Laxman, 20 overs to go (potentially only 5).

3:44am: Laxman sweeps viciously and hits Tharanga flush on the shin at forward short-leg. Flicks it vigorously past the same fielder for a boundary to deep square-leg next ball. Murali should probably stop bowling now. SRT pinches a single to third man to keep the strike.

Every top order Indian batsman who failed in the first innings has come good in the second, scoring at least a 50. Encouraging signs for the Indian team.

SRT needs 19, Laxman needs 5. 19 overs to go (potentially only 4 but since both batsmen are nearing personal landmarks they may continue beyond that now).

By the way, the century partnership came up some time back, the 72nd such partnership for SRT, behind only Ponting (75) and Dravid (78).

3:52am: Angelo Matthews in to bowl his restrictive stuff. SRT takes a single off the second ball. Vintage Laxman flick to the midwicket boundary. That ball raced away as fast as any boundary hit in this match, indicating the sweetest of timing behind it as Matthews is bowling in the low 120's.

SRT needs 18 runs, Laxman needs 1.

3:55am: Welegedara is introduced now. He begins by bowling very wide of the off-stump and keeps SRT quiet for the next two balls. He does get a single off the 4th ball and that is the scoring for the over.

38-6-124-0 for Murali tells the tale of the pitch, the batting, and the game.

SRT needs 17 runs, Laxman needs 1, 17 overs to go.

4:00am: Prasanna saves a boundary for SRT diving away to his left. The crowd groans. SRT cuts the third ball for a single to third man. Laxman sways out of the way of a bouncer. Off the last ball, he cuts away to third man for a single and gets to his 50. The top 7 Indian batsmen in this Test have all scored at least 1 fifty in the match. Yet another second innings 50 for Laxman.

SRT needs 16, 16 overs to go and the commentators are predicting that the game will be called off after this one.

4:07am: Laxman finally is able to take single off the first ball of the over. SRT gets three more runs in the over to reach 87. Surely they will let him go on and complete the century now. He is too close not be rewarded with it. And drinks are taken. Looks like SRT's quest for a century has not been hindered. Getting 32 quick runs in this hour has worked for him. Smart, very smart.

4:12am: They continue playing and a Billion Blue People heave a sigh of relief. 15 overs to go, 13 runs to get. The irony is that if SRT had not asked for a nightwatchamn last night, he could well have been beyond a century by now! Just for that they should have gone off the field. Now that he knows he has 15 overs, SRT is content to wait for the bad ball. Matthews is bowling wide of the off-stump, asking SRT to reach for it. So far, SRT has avoided it altogether, Sydney 2004 style. The 5th one is straight driven but Angelo stops it in his follow-through preventing runs. A fierce square-cut is fielded by point and Yardley squeals, "Why wasn't that man there all innings?" A maiden for Matthews.

4:17am: Welegeara bowls to Laxman, who will be trying to pass on the baton to SRT. 7-2 field so we know where the ball will be bowled. That was wide and collected in front of first slip. Sangakkara making a point to the Indians. The umpire finally wakes up and does his job, calling a wide. Seriously, why do the umpires wait before they do their jobs? This is another wide and Sangakkara is actually trying to reason with the umpire? Maybe he is just asking for clarification. The fourth and fifth balls are closer but not anywhere close to the batsmen. The last ball will surely be left alone now.

399 for 4, SRT still needs 13 runs.

4:24am: Sachin walks across the stumps and flicks it away to long-leg for a boundary! His ODI skills coming handy here. Takes him to 91. Steps across and cover drives a wide ball for a couple goes to 93. Leaves the next one well alone.

SRT needs 7 runs. The rest of the information is inconsequential. After beginning on the first day with a semi-mocking Obligatory Non-SRT Milestone watch for every batsman, it is just too ironical that the match is ending with precisely that - an SRT milestone watch!

4:30am: Herath operating over the wicket and bowling wide outside the leg stump. Maiden over and SRT back on strike with 11 overs to go. The high drama continues!

4:31am: Welegedara comes in now, bowling over the wicket. Can he finish the match a wicket? Three straight balls wide of the stumps. Make that five straight balls outside the stumps, with the 4th one being punched by SRT. The last ball is adjusted to by SRT, who slides across the pitch and drives it between cover and mid-off for a four!

I am actually starting to enjoy this cat and mouse game. SRT and Sangakkara are matching wits. Sadly, it is only now that Sangakkara is thinking his angles through. Sangakkara is bound to have about a 100 choice words after the match is over!

4:36am: VVS plays out a maiden as all the balls are pitched way outside leg stump by Herath.

4:38am: SRT walks across to the 8-1 field and flick-drives the ball to the mid-on fielder for a single, taking him to 98. Laxman is sure to let everything go by now. And he does. Laxman has stayed on 51 for two years, 7 months, and 4 days it seems.

4:42am: SRT is three overs away from a century at the worst, I suppose, and maybe only one ball away. Herath operates over the way wicket and way outside the off-stump. I sense a paddle sweep coming up. Laxman steals a single for SRT. Would you believe it? SRT plays a soft shot to the leg side, not really looking for a single. The fielders ambled in, too. Seeing that Laxman went haring down and a very comfortable single, in the end, takes SRT to 99.

4:46am: The Test match is now 1 run away or 1 wicket away from coming to an end. Sangakkara is taking his own sweet time setting the field. He is not even bothering to look like he is doing anything. 7-2 field, mid-on and midwicket in place on the leg side to Welegedara. Welegedara comes close enough to SRT to tempt him even as the ball swings away, but SRT leaves it alone. The next ball is defended to point. SRT walks across but cannot go past Welegedara who stops it quickly on his follow-through. A tap and run to mid-off gets Sachin to his century, his 43rd. Gavaskar is as happy as any seemingly neutral person can be. Gavaskar says that this century saved the match for India, along with Gambhir.

Sangakkara is now making India bat on. That was the 7th hundred in the match, one behind the world record of 8 (South Africa - West Indies). The match has been called off at the end of the over. India reaches 412 for 4 in 129 overs in the 3rd innings to draw the match.

Once again, I hope the man of the match goes to Welegedara. Mahela will probably get it, though. SRT celebrates 20 years of Tests with a century.

So a match that began with a bang when Sri Lanka had India teetering at 32 for 4, goes on to become one of the highest scoring draws you'll every come across. Fancy that.

7 centurions, 4 other scores over 50, 21 wickets, a world record partnership for the 6th wicket for Sri Lanka...I am sure CricInfo will have a lot more and I shall link to it tomorrow.

For now, I shall take a break and get some sleep before my classes tomorrow. 5 nights have gone by and Friday is at hand. Yay! I know what I will be doing this weekend.