An Indian side, widely regarded to contain some of the finest players of spin bowling, failed to last 120 overs in two innings combined, succumbing to Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis. By S. Ram Mahesh.
Sri Lanka’s victory in the first Test, played at the fetching Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), was from the mould whose cast the island team has spent years perfecting. An Indian side, widely regarded to contain some of the finest players of spin bowling, failed to last 120 overs in two innings combined, succumbing to Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, one a known genius, the other a maverick debutant.
Between them, the spinners claimed 19 of the 20 wickets needed, as Sri Lanka put the finishing touches on what captain Mahela Jayawardene called the “perfect game”.
Said Jayawardene: “We probably played the perfect game. We put the pressure on the Indians by scoring 600 runs. It was not a bad wicket to bat on, but Murali and Mendis bowled brilliantly. For us, it was all about just winning the Test match, the first one in a three-match series. I was surprised a little because when you see that batting line-up, you obviously think these guys have a lot of experience and they will buckle down and really give you a fight. We were prepared for that. The way we managed to bowl them out in two sessions, it was surprising.”
Sri Lanka set the agenda early on the second day, after India had managed to win a few gains on a rain-soaked first. Malinda Warnapura, the left-handed opener, compiled a workman-like century, fighting hard and taking advantage of the Indian bowlers’ lack of discipline. Warnapura isn’t the most attractive of batsmen; but he is a most efficient one. He plays well off his legs, drives powerfully down the ground, and but for a tendency to drive riskily behind point, has all the makings of a sound opener, particularly in Asian conditions.
Jayawardene’s century was considerably prettier. His assault on Ishant Sharma on the second morning was breath-taking. The young fast bowler worked up decent pace (nowhere near the highs he has touched in the past, however), but the width on offer was accepted in no uncertain terms. The Sri Lankan captain is a wonderfully natural batsman. He punished India with ruthless grace.
Thilan Samaraweera’s was perhaps the most significant of the hundreds, from a person standpoint. Warnapura, although 29, is looked upon as an investment — an opener who, Jayawardene said, will be allowed to evolve at the international level. Jayawardene himself has little need for centuries at home to bolster his case for being considered among the finest players in the world currently. Tillakaratne Dilshan, whose century was by far the most thrilling on view, is seen as a wild card, a possible game-breaker at six and fielder extraordinaire.
Samaraweera, who spent nearly two years outside the Test team, was once a stonewaller’s stonewaller. A change in philosophy with Jayawardene’s ascension meant he had to improve his rate of scoring to play Test cricket again. He worked on his game with the ‘A’ side, and altered it enough to score a century in the West Indies in fewer than 200 balls. His century in the first Test required just 174, and it was his industrious manner that pushed Sri Lanka along late on the second day.
India’s bowling was severely disappointing. The wicket wasn’t the worst for bowling, but the bowlers failed to sustain pressure over a session, bowling a miniscule number of maidens. The chances that were created were put down more often than not. Jayawardene was dropped twice (on 55 and 93) by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik off Anil Kumble. The first was a bottom edge, always difficult, off a leg-break that was pushed through. The second, which took the outside edge, was the sort of chance that ’keepers catch more often than not at this level.
There were other offences: Zaheer Khan caught Warnapura (on 55) off his bowling, but he had overstepped; V. V. S. Laxman, at gully, dropped the opener (on 113) off Zaheer — a tough chance, low to the fielder’s right; Samaraweera was reprieved on 53 off Harbhajan Singh, when Gautam Gambhir reacted well at short leg, but couldn’t hold on. “We did let them off the hook,” said Kumble. “We had our chances.”
Under pressure, the Indian batsmen did little to enhance their reputations. V. V. S. Laxman’s 56 was India’s only half-century of the match. The selection of strokes in the first innings left a lot to be desired. In the second, they were too timid, as Muralitharan and Mendis ran amok. Mendis’s dismissal of Laxman in the first innings was a thing of beauty: having set the batsman up with the ‘carom’ ball, a delivery which is flicked out of the hand by a folded middle finger and leaves the right hander, Mendis bowled Laxman with a googly that went though the gap between bat and pad.
The Test also saw the introduction of the umpire referral system. Sri Lanka benefited by making four excellent calls (three by the captain, and one by Dilshan against a caught-behind decision) — each of which helped further the cause for victory. “If it wasn’t there, we probably would have had four bad decisions going against us in this match,” said Jayawardene. “We managed to turn it around.
Sachin’s and Rahul’s decisions were both tough ones for the umpires to just pick it up, especially when you have two bowlers like Murali and Ajantha at the batsmen on these kind of tracks. It is not easy. They just needed that extra bit of help. I am all for it, not just because most of the referrals went our way, but it’s just that the obvious mistakes, we managed to rectify from them.”
The scoresFirst Test, Colombo, July 23-26. Sri Lanka won by an innings and 239 runs.
Sri Lanka — 1st innings: M. Vandort c Karthik b I. Sharma 3; M. Warnapura c Dravid b Harbhajan 115; K. Sangakkara c Dravid b Zaheer 12; M. Jayawardene c Karthik b I. Sharma 136; T. Samaraweera c Laxman b Zaheer 127; T. Dilshan (not out) 125; P. Jayawardene c I. Sharma b Harbhajan 30; C. Vaas (not out) 22; Extras (b-4, lb-5, w-3, nb-18) 30. Total (for six wkts., decl.) 600.
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-57, 3-212, 4-360, 5-454, 6-545.
India bowling: Zaheer 37-2-156-2; I. Sharma 33-4-124-2; Ganguly 8-1-24-0; Harbhajan 43-2-149-2; Kumble 37-4-121-0; Sehwag 4-0-17-0.
India — 1st innings: G. Gambhir c Samaraweera b Muralitharan 39; V. Sehwag c Warnapura b Kulasekara 25; R. Dravid b Mendis 14; S. Tendulkar b Muralitharan 27; S. Ganguly c Kulasekara b Muralitharan 23; V. V. S. Laxman b Mendis 56; D. Karthik c & b Muralitharan 9; A. Kumble lbw b Mendis 1; Harbhajan Singh c Warnapura b Muralitharan 9; Zaheer Khan lbw b Mendis 5; I. Sharma (not out) 13; Extras (lb-2) 2. Total: 223.
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-79, 3-79, 4-123, 5-138, 6-147, 7-170, 8-181, 9-188.
Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 5-0-23-0; Kulasekara 11-2-42-1; Mendis 27.5-5-72-4; Muralitharan 29-4-84-5.
India — 2nd innings: G. Gambhir st. P. Jayawardene b Muralitharan 43; V. Sehwag lbw b Muralitharan 13; V. V. S. Laxman lbw b Mendis 21; S. Tendulkar c Dilshan b Muralitharan 12; R. Dravid c Warnapura b Mendis 10; S. Ganguly c Dilshan b Muralitharan 4; D. Karthik c M. Jayawardene b Muralitharan 0; A. Kumble b Muralitharan 12; Harbhajan Singh b Mendis 15; Zaheer Khan b Mendis 3; I. Sharma (not out) 5; Extras 0. Total: 138.
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-53, 3-82, 4-95, 5-103, 6-103, 7-103, 8-120, 9-133.
Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 5-0-27-0; Kulasekara 9-3-25-0; Mendis 18-3-60-4; Muralitharan 13-3-26-6.
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