It was an encounter that started with the reminder that cricket was a great leveler, and ended with conclusive proof that adherence to the basics always pays.
Kumara Sangakkara, the centurion at Rajkot, failed to open his account and joined Jayasuriya and Tharanga in the pavilion with only six runs on the board. The Indian bowlers, led by Zaheer Khan, bowled superbly on a wicket that looked tailor-made for batting. They were backed wonderfully by the fielders, with veterans Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar ‘catching’ by example. The events that followed the fall of the fifth Sri Lankan wicket at the halfway mark with only 91 runs on the board, does make out a strong case for playing a fifth bowler. The Indians played four specialists at Goa, with Tendulkar and Sehwag sharing the fifth bowler’s duties. They could not make much of an impact, and the Sri Lankan middle-order, comprising Atapattu, skipper Jayawardene and Dilshan, were able to dig their side out of the hole. These batsmen were overshadowed by Russell Arnold, who essayed a workmanlike knock and kept the scoreboard ticking, despite the frequent and frustrating fall of wickets at precisely the wrong time. Arnold is one of those batsmen who get runs without your realizing it. He was largely responsible for Sri Lanka reaching a competitive total. The asking rate for the Indians was less than five, but the visitors would have fancied their chances of a successful defense after the Rajkot win.
The thrust to the Indian innings was provided by Ganguly and Yuvraj. Their dismissals within a few runs of each other brought Dravid and Dhoni to the middle. It was at this stage that Sri Lanka could have been proactive. Both batsmen were relatively new to the crease, and the score was yet to reach triple figures. But the fielders were dropped back, ostensibly to cut out the boundaries. However, Sri Lanka needed wickets more than tight overs.
Dravid then brought all his experience into play, while Dhoni was pragmatism personified. The Sri Lankans may have expected him to play his ‘natural’ game, but he chose to outsmart them by concentrating on the singles and twos and complementing his senior partner splendidly. How many times has a Dhoni fifty comprised only two boundaries? The duo demonstrated the virtues of the ‘basics’ by pushing the ball around and running brilliantly between the wickets. Once they had done so for a sustained length of time, one could see the fielders lose their focus. Overthrows and misfields followed. By the time the field was brought back in, it was too late. It was only after the game was safe that Dhoni returned to his aggressive ways. The skipper would have loved to take his side home, but he will be satisfied with the result. The stage is set for a humdinger at Vishakhapatnam. No prizes for guessing what all of India would be hoping for, besides victory of course: Match-winning knocks by Sehwag, Yuvraj and the little champion.
