Tags:
Journalism of Courage
SAS Nagar, Nov 22: The selection commitee meeting was over by lunch today and India’s fortunes took a dramatic turn almost immediately. It would be a bit harsh to derive a connection between the team being retained for the second Test and the sharp twist in the script of the first Test. But the fact remained that 97 runs came in 29 overs before tea, and 66 runs in 8.5 overs thereafter, as the Indian late-order flowered under the inspiring shadow of Saurav Ganguly.
His assurance in the middle, along with Abey Kuruvilla’s bold statement with the bat, allowed his skipper to declare India’s first innings at 515 for nine, 41 minutes after tea. Though the Indian top order had ensured that the decision came at least two sessions after it really should have, Javagal Srinath ensured better attendance in the PCA Stadium tomorrow with an inspired late evening burst. And, for the second time here, he had the wickets to show for his efforts as the Sri Lankans faced an uncomfortable night at 61 for two.
With Sanath Jayasuriya (17) and Roshan Mahanama (11) falling to his express pace, Srinath indicated that he might play a major role in India’s gameplan, especially during the crucial first session of the final day.
A significant aspect in India’s revival was it had to bank on its less equipped batsmen to lead the charge after Azharuddin (53) and Ganguly followed a familiar script in taking 59 runs in 26 overs in the morning session. He promised much with occasional dabs of class, but seemed to have stuck a different mode as he got stuck on 49 for nearly half an hour.
Anyway, the aggression of Kumble after lunch after Azhar was trapped in front by Vaas seemed to have rubbed off on Ganguly too, as the soft-spoken Calcuttan did some hard talking with the willow. He ventured to sweep the ball confidently whenever off-spinner Muralitharan tried the leg-stump formula and the patent off-drives were in excellent working condition. More than anything else it was his composure at the crease that shone through in his fourth century in 15 Tests. Ten boundaries and two sixes went into his account today as also a total of 1000 runs in Test cricket.
There was more for the light gathering today as Kuruvilla (35) got the ball to climb up majestically and crash into the stands thrice. The least amused being Muralitharan, who was the victim twice.
The Indian declaration, meanwhile, seemed to hinge more or less on Ganguly’s progress and that ended with a mistimed ondrive to Tillekaratne at midwicket.Then came Srinath’s twin strike, the first of which gave Ranatunga further reason to nurse a grouse against the umpiring in this Test. Jayasuriya would agree after he stared for moment at umpire Steve Bucknor as the ball cut sharply into him before deviating into the hands of Mongia. The West Indian, though, did not hesitate in ruling that the Lankan’s bat had a say in deciding the course of that ball.
And, as Aravinda de Silva survived a couple of close calls off Mohanty before fading light stopped play six overs short, it was obvious that the umpires would be under considerable pressure tomorrow morning. Almost as much as the Sri Lankan batsmen would be.
SCOREBOARD
SRI LANKA (1st innings): 369
INDIA (1st innings): Nayan Mongia b Muralitharan 57 (239m, 182b, 7×4, 1×6); Navjot Sidhu run out 131 (476m, 372b, 14×4, 2×6); Rahul Dravid c Ranatunga b Jayasuriya 34 (149m, 117b, 4×4); Sachin Tendulkar c Dharmasena b Jayasuriya 23 (129m, 93b, 2×4); Mohammed Azharuddin lbw Vaas 53 (215m, 138b, 8×4); Saurav Ganguly c Tillekaratne b Vaas 109 (324m, 240b, 10×4, 2×6); Anil Kumble c Dharmasena b Muralitharan 22 (66m, 49b, 3×4); Javagal Srinath c Mahanama b S de Silva 6 (17m, 10b, 1×4); Rajesh Chauhan c Dharmasena b Muralitharan 2 (13m, 12b); Abey Kuruvilla not out 35 (50m, 39b, 3×6); Extras: (b-19, lb-10, nb-8, w-6) 43; Total: (for nine decl, 847m, 206.5 overs) 515
Fall of wkts: 1-120 (Mongia); 2-214 (Dravid), 3-259 (Sidhu), 4-274 (Tendulkar), 5-353 (Azharuddin), 6-400 (Kumble), 7-409 (Srinath), 8-426 (Chauhan), 9-515 (Ganguly)
Bowling: Vaas 36.5-11-107-2, S de Silva 28-2-81-1, Dharmasena 34-11-65-0, Muralitharan 75-30-174-3, Jayasuriya 30-9-59-2, Ranatunga 3-3-0-0
SRI LANKA (2nd innings): Sanath Jayasuriya c Mongia b Srinath 17 (15m, 14b, 2×4); Marvan Atapattu batting 26 (94m, 56b, 4×4); Roshan Mahanama lbw Srinath 11 (27m, 15b, 2×4); Aravinda de Silva batting 6 (48m, 28b, 1×4); Extras: (lb-1) 1; Total: (for two wickets, 94 minutes, 19 overs) 61
Fall of wkts: 1-22 (Jayasuriya); 2-40 (Mahanama)
Bowling: Srinath 6-0-29-2; Mohanty 8-1-25-0; Kuruvilla 3-1-3-0; Kumble 1-0-3-0; Chauhan 1-1-0-0
