We have the confidence that we can do it again

As I write, we have just returned to our hotel rooms after an exciting second day’s play in the second test against the Windies at the picturesque Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad. It has been an extremely absorbing test match so far where the exchanges have been even.

We have never played a test match at this venue before but this has been a happy hunting ground for us where we have won four of the five one-day internationals we have played here, including three games on the trot during last year’s World Cup. We went into the match as favourites, based on our performance in Guyana and it is not often that we are tagged this way when we play away from home. There was even speculation that we could make history if we won the game by becoming the first team to secure a clean sweep of a series in the West Indies.

We had enjoyed a seven day break from cricket-a luxury in this day and age-but it does leave you wondering whether some cricket during that period would have been better for the boys.

A practice game was indeed planned but that did not materialise firstly because the authorities could not put together a proper playing XI and also because of the lack of a suitable venue. The ground conditions in Tobago where the match was scheduled to be staged were far from satisfactory and had we played there, we would surely have risked injury to our players and that is something we could all do without.

For this game we opted to play debutant Ishara Amerasinghe (who flew into the Windies straight after his wedding and a short honeymoon) -instead of Rangana Herath. This was based on the reading of the wicket as well Ishara’s performances at the nets where he was both accurate and aggressive.

Chamara Silva came in for the slot created by the hamstring injury to keeper Prasanna Jayawardene with Kumar resuming his glove work. Prasanna remains with us and is recovering fast but we decided against risking him in this game.

Mahela did lose the toss but that hardly made a difference because, based on our reading of the wicket we had planned to bat anyway. It seemed to be a good batting track with hardly any moisture in it and not offering much for the bowlers at least initially.

Our openers, Michael and Malinda who are now getting used to their roles batted really well. Malinda in particular was not afraid to go for his strokes and in the first hour we posted sixty runs at nearly five runs an over.

Malinda’s dismissal with the score at 62 sparked a collapse of sorts and the frequent interruptions due to rain did not help either. At 117 for five, it was up to the middle order to come to the rescue. Dilshan and Chamara, who have had problems with their form recently, salvaged the innings admirably with a hundred run partnership.

They appeared to have regained their fluency, their hundred run alliance coming at the breakneck speed of over six runs an over. When we ended the day at 217 for five it was a happy dressing room to be in, considering our earlier reversals.

Unfortunately though, we couldn’t build on that on day two. Our last five wickets yielded only 56 runs and of that too, 23 runs came from a last wicket partnership between Chamara and Ishara Amerasinghe. The debutant no doubt got a taste of test cricket, playing down 22 deliveries and holding one end up without scoring a run!

Most commentators here rated 278 as a par score for this wicket, but I felt that we were 25 to 50 runs short of what we could have scored. A total of 300 to 325 would have been an ideal platform to put pressure on the Windies and I feel we missed out on a chance to capitalise on what the openers and Dilshan and Chamara did.

We had to restrict the Windies and the key was to bowl in the right areas. I was able to do that in the first few overs and although the ball went tantalizingly close to the edge of the bat on many occasions, we couldn’t get that vital initial breakthrough.

Chris Gayle and then, debutant and birthday boy Sewnarine Chattergoon and Ramnaresh Sarwan all batted purposefully, no doubt learning their lessons from the first test. With the Windies at 137 for 1, we had to regroup.

During the interruption for rain, when we returned to the dressing room we had a discussion to plan our strategy to claw back into the game. We decided on bowling Murali at one end while using the pacemen alternately at the other end.

I discussed with Thilan Thushara and Ishara the need to bowl in the right areas to try and keep the batsmen tied down, which would prompt a mistake from them because this is not the type of wicket where you could prod defensively for a long time, without playing a shot or two.

Our plans have worked to some extent and now, at the end of day two, we have the Windies at 268 for 7. Their last six wickets have fallen for 130 runs and we know that we are back in the game, although much more needs to be done.

Our first task would be to get the Windies all out for as little as possible, perhaps conceding a lead of a handful of runs. There are three more days to play in this game, so we need to put our heads down and bat sensibly as we did in Guyana.

We have done it once a few days ago, so we have the confidence that we can do it again and we certainly have the batting depth to achieve that. Thereafter, we could set the Windies a reasonable target and leave ourselves time to bowl them out as well. That way, we could start to take control of the game.

We have already seen even on day two, that the wicket is now turning. The Windies, when they bat for a second time will be facing Murali in the fourth innings on day four and day five. It is a prospect that gives us tremendous hope because we know that Murali can be virtually unplayable when the conditions suit him.

But for now, we are focused on the three days ahead. We know that chances to make history don’t come our way often, and when they do, we are not ready to let go of them in a hurry.