After the near murder of Test cricket, where the cricket-loving public of the Indian sub-continent was dragged through a five-day yawn, the scene moves to the P. Saravanamuttu Oval for the third and final Test on Tuesday.Indications for this game are that since the Lankans cannot lose the series they would go all out to make it a 2-0 and thus avenge their bad memories of their last Indian excursion.
The ground history favours the Lankans with their last five outings ending in wins. In September 2005 Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by an innings and 69 runs. Their next victory was against South Africa when they scampered through to an exciting one-wicket win in August 2006. Then in 2007, the home team beat Bangladesh by an innings and 90 runs. The Lankans the went on to beat India by eight wickets in 2008 and Pakistan by seven wickets in July 2009. More importantly this means the Oval wicket is a result-yielding one.
Skipper Sangakkara explaining matters to the media after the Test match at the SSC (Pic by Ranjith Perera) |
This being the early days of the post-Murali era, a positive that the Lankans take into this game is that the winnings here have not been an all Murali affair. Of the 95 wickets that have fallen to bowlers in the past five tests, 48 have been captured by the seamers while 47 by the spinners. Of the 47 wickets that have been taken by the spinners Muralitharan has been responsible for only 18 while the other spinners led by Rangana Heart and Ajantha Mendis have bagged 29. Among the fast bowlers, the most impressive have been Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga.
In the post-match conference on Friday the Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara commenting on the crucial game and the plusses that they will carry along said, “I thought the batting was very good. In bowling, we had been more intent over the three and a half days that we bowled; there were catches close to bat and we created opportunities, but unfortunately three or four half chances went abegging. It was tough going there. The seamers tried bowling short and tried bowling full. We tried many things as possible. But, I think we did pretty well.”
As a matter of fact, though, the Lankan spinners in unfavourable conditions captured nine of the Indian wickets while the Indians managed only seven Lankan wickets in the two innings. The Lankans also will be beaming with the thought that their ace striker Lasith Malinga will be back in the fold for this game and in all probabilities will take the place of fast man Dhammika Prasad who failed to impress. However, the Lankan selectors will sit once again for a closer scrutiny on the squad prior to the match.
When asked Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni if he was concerned about the Indian bowling department, he said, “We have bowlers who can do well. Taking twenty wickets on a wicket that favours the batman is not possible. This is probably the first time that we are playing a Test series that we have not been able to get the batsmen out. However, I do not think it is a big worry. The bowlers look set and they are ready to bowl long spells.
“Ishant (Sharma) has been a part of our side for a long time and he has done well almost in every condition. He has done well in India and Australia. I don’t think it is real challenge and these bowlers are capable of getting twenty wickets. I think with a bit more exposure and with a bit more games under their belts they will get the experience and they will learn alternate ways of getting the batsmen out”.
The Lankan squad for the second Test reads: Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Mahela Jayawardene (Vice-captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Pradeep, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Prasanna Jayawardene (wicket keeper), Suraj Randiv, Thilina Kandamby, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Tharanga Paranavithana, Dammika Prasad, Thilan Samaraweera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Chanaka Welagedera,
The Indian tour squad reads: M. S. Dhoni (Captain/keeper), Virender Sehwag (Vice-captain), Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, V. V. S Laxman, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket keeper), Ishant Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Murali Vijay, Yuvraj Singh. |
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