Cricket Tournaments

If Sri Lanka held the upper hand at Ahmedabad, it was India all the way in Kanpur. Right from winning the toss to putting up a mammoth score on board to decimating the Lankan batting line-up, each and every thing went right for India. And so when the fourth and, what turned out to be the final day of the Test began, only the formalities needed to be completed. And India wrapped things up midway through the day. The end could have come a lot earlier but for some stubborn resistance by Thilan Samaraweera and good support by Ajantha Mendis. Still, it was an imposing victory for India, their 100th in Test matches and biggest ever against Lanka.

The day began with the visitors precariously placed at 57/4 and even though they batted positively – 149 runs were added in the morning session – the Indians kept picking up wickets at regular intervals, ensuring Sri Lanka never got a partnership going. Overnight batsman Angelo Matthews began by crashing an off-target Zaheer Khan for three cracking boundaries. The left-arm seamer though soon had his revenge as he got Matthews caught by Dravid. The remaining batsmen too continued to go after the bowlers. One really could not point a finger at the batsmen since they were in a no-win situation. Defending would have got them nowhere and the only hope they had of salvaging some pride was to make India bat again. They fell well short of that target as well as the home side romped hope by a whopping margin of an innings and 144 runs.

Following Matthews exit, there was some resistance in the form of a partnership between Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene. The two added 61, with Jayawardene in particular impressing with his strokeplay. But just when he looked good for a lot more a yawning gap between bat and pad saw his furniture being disturbed. A delivery from Harbhajan Singh, which drifted back in after pitching, did the trick. In came Rangana Herath, threw his bat around for a run-a-ball 13 before becoming Harbhajan’s second victim of the day and third of the innings, trapped plumb in front of the stumps.

The most entertaining albeit short phase of the day, however, came when the maverick Muttiah Muralitharan walked out to bat. With nothing at stake, he used to long handle and enjoyed himself at the expense of the Indian spinners. Harbhajan was thrashed for plenty in one over and Pragyan Ojha too wasn’t treated differently. Murali had slammed two sixes and three fours in his 29, when Ojha managed to slip one through his slogging bat.

All this while, Samaraweera was solid as ever, notching up yet another half-century. He found an able ally in Mendis, who was prepared to defend and not just wield the willow mercilessly. The duo added 73 and frustrated the Indian bowlers, taking the game well beyond lunch. Neither looked in any kind of trouble against the same spinners who had looked threatening earlier in the day. Finally, MS Dhoni had to turn partnership breaker Yuvraj Singh and he did not disappoint, brining an end to Mendis’ resolute. Soon, Ojha brought the curtains down on the game having Chanaka Welegedara caught and bowled and India had registered a historic and memorable win. S. Sreesanth did not have much to do on this day, but his contribution the day before was telling enough to earn him the player of the match.

Resuming at their overnight score of 417/2, India continued with their good work courtesy another impressive century by Rahul Dravid and half-centuries by VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. Sri Lanka struck back thanks to an excellent spell by Rangana Herath, who ended up with a five-wicket haul as India lost their last five wickets for a mere 29. The Indians, however, still managed to amass a mammoth 642. In response, Sri Lanka ended the day on a sedate 66/1, trailing by a huge margin of 576 runs. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the man out for the visitors.

Earlier in the day, Dravid was elements right from the start as he registered his 28th Test century and second of the series. In the process, the India great also crossed Allan Border’s Test tally to move up to number four in the record books – only Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting are ahead of him now. Continuing with the positive intent he has been showing since the start of the series, a determined Dravid led India’s charge on the second day. He went down the track fearlessly while pleasant drives and punches also kept coming regularly.

At the other end, Tendulkar also looked set for a big one. And when he was dropped in the 30s, it seemed lady luck was shining on him. He even celebrated the chance by dancing down the track and slamming Ajantha Mendis for a maximum. However, he did not last long after that. Going for a repeat of the six stroke, he holed out. Dravid, meanwhile, continued to go from strength to strength, looking almost impregnable. And so it wasn’t surprising that he was eventually out for no fault of his. Dravid’s old friend Laxman hit one straight back at Rangana Herath uppishly. The left-arm spinner could not hold on to the catch, but, as fate would have it, the ball disturbed the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Dravid having no chance to make it back to the crease. A crestfallen Dravid could do little but walk back dejectedly knowing all to well that there was a double century for the taking.

The dismissal of Dravid, however, did not stop the flow of runs. Having gotten over the unfortunate turn of events, Laxman and Yuvraj went about adding to Lanka’s agony. While Laxman brought out the fluent drives he is admired for, Yuvraj was at his murderous best against the spinners. Both Mendis and Murali, who have troubled the left-handed batsman in the past, could do precious little to unsettle Yuvraj as he raced towards his half-century. Having crossed his 50, Laxman also looked set for a big one till he was beaten in the flight from Herath. Laxman fell for 63, with the Indian score reading an imposing 613/4. From there though started a collapse of unimaginable proportions. MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and the rest of the tail failed to pick Herath and India folded up well short of 700.

India snatched back the advantage when Dilshan mistimed the first ball he faced from Zaheer Khan into the hands of debutant Pragyan Ojha. And though the Lankans fought back well, with three days to go they are in for a mighty battle.

After the run feast at Ahmedabad, there were runs galore once more on the first day of the Kanpur Test. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir hit scintillating centuries and Rahul Dravid approached one towards the end of the day as India finished on a historic 417 for 2 – a record for India on the first day of a Test. An ominous looking Sachin Tendulkar was giving Dravid company on 20. All this after Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first at the same venue where he first captained India in a Test – a year ago against South Africa.

The Indian openers began slightly hesitantly. Virender Sehwag, in particular, struggled. The third ball he faced – from Chanaka Welegedara – was a wide one. All he managed to do was edge it behind the wickets. Unfortunately, wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene dived across Mahela Jayawardene at first slip, who then could not judge the ball properly and ended up flooring it. Not long after that, medium pacer Angelo Mathews beat him all ends up. But having survived the tough initial period, Sehwag and Gambhir rocked leaving the Sri Lankans completely shell-shocked.

The opening duo played shots all over the park and the Sri Lankans bowlers – both pacers and spinners – could do very little. Gambhir’s knocks consisted of super hits down the ground down, delectable late cuts and lofty strokes off the spinners. Sehwag, on the other hand, was his usual effervescent self being especially severe on the spinners. Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis have been a thorn in India’s flesh in recent times, but not on this day. And playing a third spinner in Rangana Herath under the conditions in place of a pacer backfired rather embarrassingly as the left-right hand combination did not allow anyone from the trio to settle.
Gambhir took a liking to Herath in his very first over slamming him for three boundaries – one through the covers, one through point and the third one down the ground. The southpaw continued to be severe on Herath throughout the day. Sehwag, meanwhile, enjoyed himself at the expense of Mendis and Muralitharan. He literally toyed with them, constantly hitting them over the top and piercing the in-field with utter disdain enroute to his ton. As expected, he fell going for another boundary, an inside-out attempted against Murali ending up in the hands of cover. But, by then the damage had been done. Sehwag made a memorable 131 and added 233 with Gambhir, their highest stand till date to lay a magnificent platform for the team.

If Lankans thought, they could breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of Dravid walking in, they were wrong. Bolstered by the start, the number three batsman was at his assertive best. He drove, cut and punched with utmost confidence, as most of the strokes found the meat of the bat. Even in defence, he was rock solid as ever. At the other end, Gambhir looked set for a double hundred when Murali’s guile finally worked and the left-hander was caught and bowled for a majestic 167.

Considering a start they have got, India would have to play atrociously poorly to lose from here. But to win, they will need their bowlers to be in top form and better response from the pitch compared to the graveyard in Ahmedabad.

In the end, India managed to save the Ahmedabad Test pretty easily on the final day, thanks to solid efforts from Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar coupled by good contributions from nightwatchman Amit Mishra and VVS Laxman. However, while the Test ended in a stalemate, the game of cricket ended up on the losing side. Amidst all the talk of ‘saving’ the most sacrosanct version of cricket, an unresponsive pitch was the last thing Test cricket needed. While seven centuries were scored and plenty of runs amassed on both sides, one can say that there was ample entertainment for the crowds. But there was no ‘test’ as such for the batsmen while bowlers bled profusely. In short, the contest that makes the five-day game intriguing was completely missing.

The authorities concerned have got to make sure that barren lands stay away from the Test arena as much as possible if they want to protect the future of Test cricket. Such surfaces also dampen the enthusiasm of the bowlers, as even the best look insipid, which was evident in Muttiah Muralitharan’s (the highest wicket-taker in world cricket) extremely ordinary figures. How then can you expect the less talented ones to perform? As it is, the bowlers are suffering in the various abridged editions. And more shockers like Ahmedabad will only lead to deterioration in the standard of the bowling in international cricket, which is anyways at an all-time low.

Speaking of the match per se, it was undoubtedly dominated by Sri Lanka, with India having their sessions only on the first and final day. Batting wasn’t a tough task out in the middle so it is the bowlers who did well that deserve most of the credit. And the first name that instantly comes to mind is medium-pacer Chanaka Welegedara. Considering the fact that he was drafted in at the last minute following an injury to regular new ball bowler Thilan Thushara, Welegedara came up with an exceptional performance. It was his devastating spell on a moist pitch during the opening day that set the tone of the game for the Lankans. Getting Virender Sehwag, Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar is no mean feat no matter whatever the conditions and no praise can be too hight for Welegedara for that effort. The most impressive aspect of his bowling was that all his dismissals were either bowled or lbw, proving he is a nagging, accurate pacer.

From India’s side, Zaheer Khan was not equally effective in comparison. But the fact that he bowled without pain and claimed a couple of wickets will definitely give him and the team a lot of confidence as they head into the next Test. The same though cannot be said about Ishant Sharma. Again, the pitch was a factor, but even otherwise he hasn’t looked at that penetrative best recently. Meanwhile, the spinners from both sides would like to forget the match and move on.

This was a batsman’s Test no doubt. Dravid, Dhoni, Dilshan, the Jayawardenes, Gambhir and Tendulkar, all helping themselves to centuries. But even they would like to face sterner challenges. After all, that is what Test cricket is all about.

With just one day to go in the Ahmedabad Test, Sri Lanka have been the dominant side without an iota of doubt. And with two Indian top order batsmen already back in the hut, India will have to bat exceptionally well on the final day to save the Test. More than Virender Sehwag, it is first innings saviour Rahul Dravid’s dismissal which could hurt India badly. The India number three, who was a tad unlucky to be adjudged lbw, has the perfect technique and temperament under the prevailing circumstances. Unfortunately, he won’t be around as India try to save the match on the final day. It is not to say that the others are not good enough. Also, the pitch is still pretty good. Yet, pressure can make people do funny things and it remains to be seen how the rest cope with it.

Sri Lanka’s delayed declaration will be a subject of discussion. However, there will be criticism only if India manage to save the Test. There are two ways of outdoing the opposition while setting a target — bat them out of the game and then apply complete pressure by having umbrella fields or dangling the carrot and giving the team batting last a sniff that they can win. Kumar Sangakkara decided to opt for the former. His logic definitely would have been that with the pitch playing well the visitors could not afford to give India the slightest chance of going for victory. The fact that Lanka have never won a Test in India might also have influenced the think-thank, so the delay in the declaration was understandable.

In spite of the time lost, Lanka still have a strong chance of going for a historic win. No matter how good a pitch is, the last day will always have something to offer for the bowlers. The spinners Rangana Herath and Muttiah Muralitharan, in particular, could prove a handful on the final day. And impressive medium pacer Chanaka Welegedara wicket-taking ability can also unsettle the Indians, especially early on when he has been at his deadliest. So India have a real fight on hand to come out unscathed.

The host will be under immense pressure when they take the field on day five. However, they can learn plenty from the manner in which the two Jayawardenes – Mahela and Prasanna – applied themselves over such a long period of time during the Lankan innings. As mentioned earlier, there is nothing much in the pitch for the bowlers. Still, a lot of determination and mental application is needed for the amount of time the duo applied themselves. Their knocks were nearly flawless, and their class made good international bowlers from India look extremely ordinary. Both the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra were extremely insipid and Ishant Sharma did not do a lot to repay the faith the selectors have shown in him despite his disappointing efforts recently. Only Zaheer Khan made an impression, but without support even he was far from lethal expect for a few incisive spells.

A lot will now depend on how Gautam Gambhir and the remaining middle-order batsmen apply themselves. If India do manage to pull it off it will be a genuinely hard-fought effort.

A sparkling century by Tillakaratne Dilshan, preceded by some excellent early morning bowling by Sri Lanka ensured the visitors ended day two of the Ahmedabad Test with honours even. India did strike back in the last session when Zaheer Khan dismissed Dilshan and skipper Kumar Sangakkara in quick succession. However, former captain Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera put their heads down and added an unbeaten 85 for the fourth wicket to take Sri Lanka to 275/3 at the close of play. Earlier in the day, India were bowled out for 426, losing their last four wickets having added only 41 to their overnight score. Dravid fell without adding to his overnight score of 177.

If day one belonged to Dravid, day two was undoubtedly Dilshan’s. His ton made sure that Lanka capitalised on the advantage they had gained after bowling India out early on the second day. Dilshan’s effort was all the more commendable since runs flowed from his bat even when MS Dhoni did his best to negate the Lankan opener’s favourite scoring areas. The Indian skipper blocked, the point, fine leg and square leg area early on, but Dilshan did not fall for the ploy. Instead, he was satisfied to place the ball in the gaps and turn over the strike whilst waiting for the loose deliveries.

Dilshan’s opening partner Tharanga Paranavitana also gave him good support at the other end. In fact, he did the bulk of the scoring early on. In a sense, he was lucky to have got more of the widish deliveries as both Zaheer and Ishant Sharma concentrated on dislodging Dilshan, whom they considered the more dangerous of the two. Nevertheless, Paranavitana did his job, adding 74 for the first wicket before falling prey to Ishant for 35. With a solid foundation laid, Dilshan and Sangakkara carried on the good work.

Except for a few moments at the start, Dilshan was in full flow. When the boundaries weren’t coming, he was uncharacteristically patient, running quick singles and twos. And when the width was offered, he did not back off. Having seen off the pacers without much trouble, he was at ease against the spinners, stroking both Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra for boundaries early on in their spell. At the other end, Sangakkara was more than happy to play second fiddle as Dilshan approached his 10th Test century and Sri Lanka went into tea well-placed at 155/1.

Dilshan reached his ton post tea. But just when the partnership between him and Sangakkara seemed to be assuming extremely dangerous proportions, Zaheer showed his true class. Going for a hook, Dilshan was cramped for room and ended up skying a catch to Dravid for 112. Five runs later, Sangakkara too perished in a similar fashion, beaten for pace by Zaheer. Post the two dismissals, Singh and Mishra managed to gain a degree of control over the innings. But though both were effective, they failed to dislodge either Jayawardene or Samaraweera, who were prepared to grind it out as Sri Lanka ended the day having gained a slight upper hand.

Come to think of it, it took all of 15 minutes for the Guwahati one-dayer to be decided. Whatever happened after that – the fightback by Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja and the brief period when Harbhajan Singh snaffled two quick wickets – proved totally irrelevant at the end of the day. And that was because, as skipper MS Dhoni candidly admitted, India had dug themselves out into such a big hole at the start that there was no way to come out of it.

Dhoni placed faith in his experienced batters, expecting them to see the team through the tough initial period after winning the toss. However, their technical deficiencies were embarrassingly exposed against classy new ball bowling. So much was expected of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, but both were undone by the guile of Mitchell Johnson, who once again proved that when there is enough in the pitch, he is among the most dangerous bowlers to face. Sachin was due for a failure after his marathon effort in the last game and while Yuvraj Singh can consider himself unlucky, the same cannot be said about Suresh Raina. He just seems to be waiting for the surprise short ball and in the process loses concentration. This is not the first time that the renowned batting line-up has failed under tricky conditions, so it definitely doesn’t augur well with the 2011 World Cup in sight.

On a positive note, it was nice to see the lower order putting up a brave effort once again. Jadeja showed that he had learnt his lessons well from the previous games, whereas Kumar’s performance with the bat will give India the choice of playing an extra bowler, if needed, in the near future. Harbhajan failed for a second consecutive time, but he has played a couple of gritty knocks in the series. That said, India need his services more as a bowling all-rounder and not vice-versa. India’s bowling effort at Guwahati wasn’t too bad. Munaf Patel started well and Harbhajan claimed a couple of confidence-gaining wickets on a spinning track. However, considering the upsetting batting failure, the bowlers could do little but retrieve some pride by delaying the win.

The Aussies, on the other hand, would consider themselves lucky to have lost the toss as it gave their bowlers the opportunity to exploit the early morning moisture. They were already on a high following the close win at Hyderabad so this gift from Dhoni was like an icing on the cake. And they received it gleefully. After Johnson had done the early damage, Doug Bollinger demonstrated why he is rated so highly by Ponting. The five key wickets Bollinger grabbed in the middle of the innings ensured that India’s hopes of a miraculous recovery were dashed and virtually sealed India’s faith in the series. The impressive aspect of his performance was that he did not attempt anything out of the blue, sticking instead to the basics of line and length.

At various stages in the series India had their moments, but failed to grab than. And so it has to be said that the better side won in the end.

Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger made excellent use of the early morning moisture on the Guwahati pitch as Australia crushed India by 6 wickets in the 6th one-day international, and in the process clinched the series 4-2. Johnson picked up three wickets while Bollinger claimed his maiden five-wicket haul to bowl India out for a paltry 170. Matters could have been worse for the home side, but for defiant half-centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar. They had crumbled to 27/5 and then 75/7 before the Jadeja and Kumar combined to add a valuable 74 for the eighth wicket. In reply, Australia lost Shaun Marsh early, but handy contributions from the remaining batsmen saw them through easily.

Earlier in the day, MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first – a decision which he was left ruing within 15 minutes of the game. Mitchell Johnson, who had a horrendous series before the game, came into his own on a pitch that offered him more than a semblance of assistance. Though Virender Sehwag smashed the second delivery of the game for six over point, he was cleaned up the left-arm seamer in the same over with a fuller delivery. The Indian opener’s defence stood thoroughly exposed as his attempted drive saw his stumps ending up in shambles. In came Gautam Gambhir and, in a matter of minutes, out went Gambhir. The left-handed batsmen tried to play one across the line on the on side, but the ball moved in the opposite direction and sent the furniture behind him cart-wheeling. Soon, Johnson sent back sometimes in-form, sometimes out-of-form Suresh Raina with a slower delivery that the youngster failed to pick and handed a simple catch to short mid-on.

At the other end, Bollinger was in his elements too. Amidst all the havoc wreaked by Johnson, he began by sending back the danger man Sachin Tendulkar, caught and bowled off a straightish delivery. Next man Yuvraj Singh was dismissed rather freakishly. Unaware of where the ball had landed up after playing a defensive stroke, Yuvraj turned around in place his bat inside his crease. Unfortunately, the ball was still in motion at that very place and the meeting the willow saw it end up dislodging the bails.

As if India weren’t embarrassed enough, Bollinger returned for two more spells and had an equally damaging impact. He broke a steadily developing partnership between Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian skipper was a tad unlucky as he was adjudged lbw off a delivery that was going to miss the off-stump. But this was Bollinger’s day. He got his much-deserved fifth wicket when Jadeja went for an ambitious on-side wallop in the batting power play just after completing his half-century. Some meaty blows by Kumar ensured India gained a degree of respectability before Shane Watson cleaned up the tail.

Australia did not have too much trouble in their chase. There was a brief flutter when Ponting and Waston fell after a steadying partnership. But the Indian bowlers did not have enough runs to play with. In the end, it was a deserving win for the Aussies.