SRI LANKA clinched the first Test against the touring West Indies by the easiest of margins - 10 wickets to be precise. The defeat of the West Indies seems to confirm their worst fears, their inability to handle Muralitharan on a turner.
A close look at the first four days indicated a draw. The most ardent Sri Lankan supporter would not have expected the West Indian batsmen to cave in so easily. In fact their first innings effort, after winning the toss, clearly surprised many Sri Lankan fans and may be some Sri Lankan players too as the West Indian batsmen led by the brilliant Lara dominated the Sri Lankan attack.
At one stage with the scoreboard reading just three down for 390 I, for one, thought it looked 600-plus. But that was where Sri Lanka staged a comeback. Muralitharan with six wickets and Vaas with four just ripped through the lower order of the West Indian batting. Now Muralitharan with 350 wickets and a huge reputation surprised none with his effort, but Chaminda Vaas - what a performer he is! On a pitch that was not very helpful to the seamers he bowled with a lot of variation and looked every inch a match winner and was not far behind Murali.
I feel Vaas has the ability to end his career with at least 250 wickets. With almost 150 wickets under his belt Vaas needs another 100 odd to get there. But the value of the wickets will surely outweigh the actual number. Every time he runs in to bowl he impresses me with his control, variation and wicket taking ability. One particular over in the second innings to Lara clearly showed that Vaas was the best of the fast bowlers on display during this game.
Look at Murali - 11 wickets in the match and now 361 in all. I feel he is the best bet to break Walsh's world record in Test cricket. With five more Tests remaining against both the West Indies and then Zimbabwe, Murali should reach the 400-mark quite comfortably.
Coming back to the match itself, the batting of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene was the feature of the Sri Lankan first innings. While Atapattu too contributed with a half-century, Jayawardene's dominating knock was the highlight besides the bowling of Murali and Vaas. I feel Jayawardene is the best batsman in the side and I would rate him with the very best in the business. Having overcome his initial impatience, Jayawardene now seems to be scoring at will with run-making made to look so easy and a pleasure. Sangakkara, in comparison, was scoring at snail's pace. True, he took quite a while to score his second Test hundred but the manner in which Jayawardene set about tackling the West Indies bowlers no doubt reduced Sangakkara to a mere spectator and Tillekeratne's workmanlike hundred to a laboured effort.
Talking about Sangakkara, it is quite obvious that his batting certainly seems to be his main strength while his wicketkeeping needs a little bit to be polished. It is time Sri Lanka got Sangakkara to work harder at his job, as he could become someone like Adam Gilchrist. In fact one should not forget that he is batting in a far more difficult position than Gilchrist which is one drop in the order, where most teams play their best batsmen.
As for Tillekeratne he continues to impress every time he walks out to the middle. They say only spinners mature with age, and Hashan Tillekeratne seems to be heading in that direction. I think the Sri Lankans have found real solidity in the middle thanks to Tillekeratne's cool approach. He is never in a hurry. One wonders how much Sri Lanka cricket had lost during the two years he was sidelined from Test cricket. It is relief to see that Tillekeratne is back and doing well.
Another man to impress in the Lankan side was Thilan Samaraweera, who not only scored a fluent 70 but also grabbed the crucial wicket of Lara in the second innings when the left-hander seemed to be guiding the West Indies out of trouble.
As for the West Indian batsmen it is a pity that a team which once had the likes of the great Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Alvin Kallicharran, who dominated both pace and spin alike, has no real quality to offer. With the exception of Brian Lara and skipper Hooper, I feel the side's batting is short of real Test class. True, there are Sarwan, Ganga and Gayle, not to forget Hinds. But they are yet to prove their worth.
The trio of Lara, Hooper and Chanderpaul would have definitely given greater hope and muscle to the brittle middle-order than some of the young and inexperienced batsmen they have at present. The bowling too doesn't seem to have the cutting edge that the likes of Roberts, Holding, Marshall and Garner provided. With the retirement of Ambrose and Walsh the pace attack is handicapped with just Dillon firing and fighting a lone battle.
So the road to a Test victory in Sri Lanka for the West Indians seems a difficult one. It will require a Herculean effort from the Caribbeans to come back in the series. But knowing the uncertain nature of the game I will not, for a moment, doubt that possibility despite the odds being stacked heavily against them.
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