India completed the formalities by wrapping up the last five Sri Lankan wickets to win the second Test at Delhi and going one-up in the three-Test series. There was a bit of resistance from Jayawardene and Dilshan that took the game past lunch, but there was really no need for India to worry about anything, for it’s apparent that this Lankan team does not have the heart for a fight and is giving in quite easily. That was evident even in the ODI series, where the Lankans showed little resistance and were happy to simply turn up. These are harsh words from one of Sri Lanka’s great supporters, but just look at the way they have thrown in the towel and it’s clear that there’s not much pride in performance in most, excepting the odd player.
Cricket needs discipline and that’s clearly lacking in this team. The selection also has not helped and at the risk of being tiresome, the absence of Jayasuriya and the sacking of Jayawardene as vice-captain has not helped matters at all. Jayawardene has taken his demotion in his stride and has shown that with the bat, but he still disappoints with the manner of his dismissal and that’s where discipline comes. However talented a player is and Jayawardene is immensely talented, the player has to mould his game according to the situation and the requirement of his team. If as a batsman it means that one has to play a bit carefully, so be it and be choosy about certain shots, then that’s the way to bat. By now if Jayawardene has a look at his career, he will find that he could have had many more hundreds to his name than he has, and it’s all due to wrong shot-selection. Every game has its periods where the ball will be on top and then the bat, and these are the periods that great players are able to sense and thus make the adjustments. Jayawardene, when he learns that, will go on to thrill even more people and most importantly do justice to what is a rare talent, for believe me there aren’t too many batsmen who have the technique, range of shots and the classic elegance that the Lankan possesses. He is still young and will score lots and lots of runs but those runs also give satisfaction when they have helped the side to win or save a game. No praise can be too high for the way Anil Kumble wove his web around the Lankan batsmen. It was a treat to watch him as he would go round the wicket and get the batsmen in the frame of mind to pad up as most balls would be pitching outside the leg stump, then he would move over the wicket and now the batsman would be in two minds what to pad up and which to play. He mixed his wrong one also cleverly, so that batsmen were jabbing at those and being caught close-in. Harbhajan was no less, as he too bowled craftily to lure the batsmen to doom. He is at his best when he is relaxed rather than when he is having a ‘panga’ with anyone, be it a fellow player or opposition or coach or from the crowd.
Dravid marshaled his forces well, alternating between pace and spin and kept the batsmen constantly under pressure. If Sri Lanka can succumb on a pitch as good as this, they will be in for more misery at Ahmedabad, where there will be more in it for the bowlers than at the Kotla. They will certainly have to show more of a fighting spirit, else that game too will be over well within the five days.
