It was a pleasure ‘Sir’

Every now and then, there comes a test match that is remembered for all the right reasons: a little bit of history, a special performance, a great game of cricket and to cap it all, a memorable result. Last week’s first test against England at Asgiriya had it all.

Even before the game began, there was a high degree of expectation, centred mostly on Murali. In addition, I was playing my one hundredth test match and there was some speculation that it may also be Sanath’s final game.

But, just one and a half hours after play began the game did not seem to be heading in our favour. We were 42 for 5 after 16 overs. There was some concern in the dressing room but we knew we had the batting to put up a score that was at least modest.Sanga, enjoying the form of his life, got together with Prasanna and while they were repairing the early damage caused by Hoggard with a 106 run partnership for the sixth wicket, we thought that a score of 200 plus was possible. That was not to be and we were restricted to 188. Even then, given the slow and low nature of the wicket we were prepared for an even contest.If we started off poorly and then recovered, England did the reverse. From 132 for 2, they slipped to 185 for 6 at the end of the second day. Murali was just getting into his act, having drawn level with Warne’s record when the rain came and halted play for the day. I thought that if that had not happened, we could have restricted England to a minimal lead in the first innings.

The next day’s morning session was overshadowed by Murali’s record. It was great to be part of that moment and Murali’s delivery that got rid of Collingwood was as special as the man. What’s more, when he was asked about it he simply said, even he did not expect that delivery to turn in the way it did. That was typical of Murali: terrific bowler but modest to a fault and above all a nice human being who had to put up with a lot to get where he is today.

We did concede a first innings lead of 93 runs and many believed that would be a deficit that could win the match for England. It was crucial that we erase this without losing too many wickets and that was the plan we had in mind. So, when Sanath and Michael Vandort put on 113 for the first wicket, we knew we could now make a match of it. This partnership, I think, was the key to our win and it was only fitting that Sanath was instrumental in setting it up.

When Sanath was dismissed and returned to the dressing room, our Manager Sriyan Samararatne made an announcement: Sanath was retiring from test cricket. It was not exactly a surprise because there was some speculation to that effect but still, there was an emotional moment when the dressing room fell silent; suddenly we all felt sad. We knew it was the end of a special era.

I thought Sanath would bow out at the end of the series but he has decided otherwise. We all have to retire some day and Sanath has taken a brave decision while he is still at the top of his game, as he demonstrated by smacking Anderson for six fours in one over. This was a man who had done wonders for Sri Lankan cricket and we will miss him, not only his mercurial performances but also his genial presence in the dressing room.

After the opening partnership was broken, Sanga took over from where he left off in the first innings and that set the stage for the rest of the match and he was a pleasure to watch. Sanga is a technically sound batsman and therefore has the ability to take on any attack. But his second innings performance didn’t come easily. We know he spent hours and hours working on his game at the nets and he has that steely determination to prove that he is arguably the best batsman in the world.

I know there was a lot of comment about whether our declaration came too late in the day, after we had set England a target of 350. But I believe we made the correct decision because we know England have the players who are capable of taking the game away from us and we couldn’t take that gamble. In fact, when Matt Prior and Ian Bell were batting they needed just over a hundred runs with about 20 overs remaining-a gettable target indeed!I was happy to be able to get the initial breakthroughs and claim the first three wickets reducing them to 27 for 3. By doing so, we were able to put England on the defensive from the word go and minimise their chances of staging a run chase. I know I was under pressure to perform and I think I responded well with five wickets in the match.

Of course, with Bell and Prior staging a recovery of sorts, it was frustrating for all of us but we did believe that we had a chance of getting those vital wickets with the new ball and it was no surprise that Murali was able to do that: in the first innings too his record breaking wicket of Collingwood came with the ball relatively new which gives it more bounce and zip off the wicket.

When the game finally ended with Mali’s yorker to Hoggard, it was a culmination of five days of absorbing cricket that showed that we had tremendous character to come from being 42 for 5 in the first session and then 92 runs behind in the first innings to carve a memorable win. In a sense, it gives us more satisfaction than a one-sided easy victory.

We are happy that we were able to play as a team where every individual contributed in their own way. We were yearning for a win after the two successive defeats to Australia and we now have to continue our good work at the SSC in Colombo.

As for changes in the team, Upul Tharanga is expected to replace Sanath at the top of the order. The English, I am sure, will bounce back and we have to perform consistently if we are to maintain our winning streak.

It is a challenge for all the boys and for me especially. The SSC is one of my favourite grounds and I am looking forward to many more wickets there. With quite a few milestones being reached in the first test, the team remains focussed for what we hope will be a repeat performance in Colombo.