Of that Galle Test and othersBy Aubrey Kuruppu
View(s):The intriguing Galle Test which was replete with collapses and recoveries, twists and turns and ups and downs brings to mind three other Tests that had more of the same.
3rd Test England Vs Australia, Leeds 1981
A dispirited, dejected and defeated skipper, Ian Botham, had thrown in the towel, or was forced to. Brealy returned and, hey presto, a rejuvenated Botham promptly ran amok.
The uncertainty of cricket was well proven at Galle last weekend - Pic by Amila Gamage
England slid to 174 in reply to Australia’s 401 and followed on. They had not done much better second time round until ‘Beefy’ stepped up to the plate. A spanking, unbeaten 149 by Botham, an innings in which he took on Lillee, Aldarman, Whitney and Bright, plus important contributions from old and Dilley, took England to a much improved 356. Not out of the Woods as yet, because the Aussies required only 130 to win and, with time to spare.
Aussies were 56-2, and then it all began to happen. Willis, who had been largely inconspicuous until then, passed a message to the skipper, via Botham, that he would like a change of ends. His wish granted, Willis tore through the Aussie line up, snatching 8-43 and bowling them out for a Nelsonesque 111. Thus, England won an incredible test match by 18 runs. It is said that the England players had checked out of the team hotel on the fourth morning, so gloomy was the situation. Yet, they gladly went back and prepared for that dizzying final day.
Sri Lanka Vs Australia 1st Test SSC 2002/2003
Asanka Gurusinha (137) Arjuna Ranatunga (127) and debutante Romesh Kaluwitharana (133) had knocked the stuffing out of Boarder’s Aussies as the local team piled up 547. The Aussies were then rolled over for 256 and conceded a lead of 291.
Determined, aggressive batting, to a man, by the visitors, saw then post 471. Sri Lanka needed a mere 181 and things looked rosy for them with Mahanama and Gurusinha in occupation.
Suddenly Aravinda had a rush of blood and hold out to Border at mid on. He had had a reprieve in the previous over. Border decided to throw in his chubby tweaker, Warne, who in tandem with Greg Mathews worked their way through the rest of the Sri Lankan batting. An unlikely win for Australia by 16 runs, having followed on 291 in arrears.
India Vs Australia 2nd Test 2001/02 Kolkata
Steve Waugh’s team amassed 445 and looked set to conquer ‘the last frontier’ when they bowled out Ganguly’s Indians for 171- a deficit of 274.
Two elegant players, two charming stroke makers VVS Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) then took charge and blunted the Aussie attack. India declared on 657-7 and Harbhajan turned the screws on the Aussies. The wily offie Harbhajan, who was then at the height of his powers, chipped away at the opponents for a match bag of 13-196. Thus India turned it around with superb batting and skilful spin bowling to win by 171 runs.
The Galle Test
The pitch has been described by some as being ‘the villain’ it did turn in the first session and Ashwin struck thrice. Mathews and Chandimal shared you could bat on it during their partnership of 79. The Indians had two centurions in Dhawan and Kohli. 375 would suggest that there weren’t too many demons even on a turner.
The dashing, cavalier batting of Chandimal and, to a lesser extent, the knocks of Mathews, Sangakkara, Thirimanne and Mubarak, all showed that runs could be obtained by application and more importantly, by good use of the feet. How could India’s famed players of spin look so inept when chasing a target of 176? They kept pushing down the line and alleged to the close-in fielders.
Dhawan, a natural aggressor, he took 52 minutes to add to his overnight 13 owing to a hairline fracture.
Rohit Sharma may be a dasher against pace in the shorter format, but he looked out of his depth here, why Pijara was left out is a mystery. On the evidence of this test, Harbhajan looks a ‘has been’. Both these players are from Mumbai. One is tempted to ask if Mumbai is still calling the shots in Indian cricket?