Sri Lanka pulled off a splendid win over India in a low scoring game where the thrills came from the fall of wickets than any spectacular display of shot making. It was that talented batsman, Mahela Jayawardene who swung the game around for the hosts with a display of grit where he first tried to get his form back and then with the gutsy Chandana, saw his team through with a couple of overs to spare.
The Indians tried everything, but were simply unable to break the partnership and had to come second-best again. This game was important from the psychological point as a win here would have boosted the Indian team’s morale, for in recent times, they have not been able to beat the Lankans, especially on the island home pitches. Of course, in a one-day game, the team that takes its opportunities on the day wins, but a win becomes a habit and for the Lankans, now it’s becoming one to beat the World Cup runners-up in their recent encounters.
Sri Lanka were also without their two experienced players Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas, and they did not miss them. By resting them and giving them the chance to get fitter by the finals on Tuesday, the Lankans have shown farsightedness.
Even when it rains in Sri Lanka, the temperature hardly goes down and the increased humidity can really take a heavy toll of one’s energies. India therefore have to look at that aspect when they pick the team for the game against the West Indians. Though they would no doubt want most of their players to get as much match practice as possible, it still makes sense to look at the workload that the players are going to have, particularly the bowlers. .
Ganguly and Laxman’s return meant that Yuvraj, who has struggled in his last few one-day games, had to sit out, and Raina found himself down the order once again. The former captain took his time and understandably so, for he was coming back to international cricket after a while, and it was a good thing to see him become the second Indian to get to 10000 runs in limited-overs cricket. And to think if he hadn’t hit that bad patch, he could well have become the fastest to that mark, but cricket history is strewn with instances of players somehow losing their form as they near a mark.
Look how many get out in the 40s and the 90s, and how many bowlers get four wickets but struggle to get to that fifth victim. With VVS Laxman also taking his time to settle down, India were pushed back in the scoring rate, and while a newcomer would have been pilloried for it, there won’t be much comment on the seniors slowing it down. If anything, a newcomer has every reason to play himself in, for he is fighting to establish himself in the team and hardly gets the opportunities that the senior ones get even if they fail repeatedly. There was some late resistance from Pathan, but the total was way short of what they would have wanted to feel comfortable about. The new-ball bowlers gave the team a good start, but with Jayawardene finding form at the right time, the Sri Lankans were through comfortably. India can learn a lesson from the way that pair applied themselves to the task at hand and more importantly, made sure that the win was achieved and not left to somebody else to do so. India have some other problems too, and that’s the form of Sehwag at the top of the order. He is struggling a bit on the slowish pitches, and with the ball not coming on to the bat as he likes, he hasn’t been able to get into any kind of rhythm. Dravid is the only batsman in any sort of touch, and he has to look at coming at his usual No. 3 , for the man in form has to get as many balls to score off, than a batsman out of touch. India have shown that they are not going to stick to the orthodox methods as far as selection is concerned, so there could well be some changes for the next game. They need to win that more easily than they did the first one, for that will be a better way to tune up for the finals.
