Galle Test Still Alive

Rain on the second day in Galle brought with it unidentical twins of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet at the porch of Indian dressing room. Images of Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina masquerading as Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt of Titanic stole the show on a washed-out day two.

Indians seemed in no mood to reflect on what went wrong on day one or how to remedify it on day three. Dhoni brigade appeared to have resigned to the fact that the Test was drifting towards a draw. But what’s more important is that Sri Lanka could still defy odds and win, whereas India needed something close to a miracle to harbor similar hopes.

Overnight rain and slight morning drizzle prevented covers from coming off, delaying the start of play. But once it began, there were some unlikely heroes from both sides that played leading roles in the day-three script. While the Indian pacers seemed to be back in the pink, Sri Lankan tail wagged like never before to regain control of the driving wheel. Later,  it was only the swashbuckling bat of Virender Sehwag who calmed a nervous Indian batting card at the close of play.

One wondered if this was the same Ishant Sharma darting in towards the batsmen in the morning. The gangly pacer ran in with purpose and spit venom that brought back memories from the series Down Under. Paranavitana could add just one to his overnight score of 110 before he nicked Ishant’s outswinger, which was pouched by a diving Dhoni. Samaraweera was never allowed to settle by Ishant and Mithun who was also bowling in the right areas. He couldn’t recover mentally after being hit on the helmet and was chickened out by Mithun after being dropped at slip by Dravid.

Circumstances alter cases and if Sri Lanka thought of pressing on, it certainly went on the backfoot with two quick wickets. Jayawardene and Mathews gave the Indian pacers the respect they demanded. A 62-run partnership ensued but Ishant – getting his second bite of the cherry – sent back the stylish Jayawardene (48) leg before wicket. Mathews (41) was Ishant’s third victim of the morning, making life merrier for the Delhi boy.

Things had changed dramatically with four wickets for 88 runs on the third morning, which became five in the fifth over after lunch with the wicket of Prasanna Jayawardene. At 393/7, it was time to sink or swim for the Sri Lankan bowlers Herath and Malinga. However, neither Dhoni nor Sangakkara would have had a clue of what was coming up.

Herath, in particular, came out to whoop it up. Though Malinga took his time to get into the groove, Herath had the bat tied to his tail that wagged and hit the ball all over. Malinga then joined the party and soon Dhoni was clutching his straws and swapping his bowlers around. The scratchy partnership developed into a smooth one, boundaries started flowing, the scoreboard swelled and both the tailenders registered their maiden half centuries.

It was just a question of one wicket and the debutant – Mithun – got that for his skipper, with Harbhajan lapping up a skier from Malinga (64) to end a highly improbable 115-run stand for the eighth wicket. With 520 runs registered and time at a premium, the Lankan skipper didn’t wait for Herath’s (80 not out) century and called his comrades back.

It wasn’t rocket science to decipher that a good opening could allay Indian fear of following on. But coming on the back of a career-best batting performance, Malinga had his tail up and did what he does best, i.e., taking wickets. He took care of Gambhir on just the second ball of the inning and sent tremors in the Indian ranks.

Sehwag, though, was his usual enterprising-self but more importantly, stayed for the length of the day, which took care of the run rate. Just when Dravid and Sehwag looked safe as a castle, an idiotic run caught Dravid (18) off guard and he fumed his way back to the pavillion. Sachin started like a bastion to Sehwag but perhaps that led to his downfall, giving Murali his wicket number 793.

It looked precarious at 101/3 but a watchful Laxman and an unfazed Sehwag (85 not out) succeeded in coming out undefeated on day 3, breathing a little bit easier at 140/3. Looking at the match as it stands, if the rain keeps away, India will have more than a handful to do against Murali & Co, who would certainly be smelling blood by now.

Afridi, Malinga set up Asia Cup

Pakistan spilled the much-needed success potion and had to remain content with its aroma, as Sri Lanka managed to brush them aside and taste victory in the opening game of Asia Cup.

The Pakistan team looked a blast from the past with the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razaaq and Mohammad Asif back in. The surprise omission, though, remained the crafty off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, which may have been decided to accommodate Abdul Razaaq to beef up the batting.

Batting first seems to be the mantra on the slow, low Sri Lankan tracks and Sangakkara did nothing different after winning the toss. The skipper himself, along with Mahela, gave the inning a settled look after an unstable start losing both the openers at 36. They put together 83 for the third wicket by the time Sangakkara (42) cut one straight to Umar Akmal at point. A small partnership of 31 followed between Mahela (54) and Samaraweera (17) but both got out at the score of 150, leaving the team with just five wickets to play with.

Shoaib Akhtar didn’t allow Kapugedera and Maharoof to settle and sent them back within a space of eight runs. At 168/7 in the 37th over, it looked highly unlikely that the Lankans would last 50 overs, but Mathews (55 not out) and Kulasekara had other ideas. They made sure the team didn’t fall apart and added crucial 43 runs for the eighth wicket, which eventually helped Sri Lank a put up a fighting 242 on the board.

Shoaib Akhtar (10-1-41-3) made an impressive comeback into the national side and was the pick of the bowlers along with Abdul Razaaq (8-0-27-1).

Pakistan chose to hold the dangerous Kamran Akmal back and gave Shahzaib Hasan a chance to open with Salman Butt. But they had the worst possible start when Butt’s timber was disturbed by Malinga in the second over for a naught, followed by another three wickets to leave the team reeling at 32/4 in the 14th over.

Afridi’s recent batting antics instill little confidence these days, but he looked focused without compromising on what he does the best – boom boom! Afridi was particularly severe against Murali and was at ease lofting him straight and over. Talented Umar Akmal (30) gave him company for 73 runs when a sudden rush of blood ran him out. The elder Akmal – Kamran – added another 49 with his skipper who reached a half century but Kamran too met the same fate as his brother – the score: 154/6.

There was no stopping Afridi who now had an equally dangerous partner in Razaaq. Afridi reached an elusive hundred and seemed to be taking the team home from a hopeless situation until Murali’s moment of success arrived. It was a sharp, juggling catch by Sangakkara that sent Afridi back after a stroke-filled 109, punctuated with 8 fours and 7 sixes.

It still wasn’t impossible for Pakistan with 38 needed in 55 balls and Razaaq at the crease but Malinga – the slinger – wrecked havoc at the other end. He mopped up the tail with a barrage of his signature toe-crushers, leaving Razaaq (26 not out) stranded. He finished with figures of 10-0-34-5 while leading his team to a 16-run win.

In a short tournament like Asia Cup where teams play each other only once, it’s going to be a tricky path ahead for Pakistan who has to beat India to harbor any hopes of making it to the final.