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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.