The Hindu : Sport : All is not lost despite the Colombo debacle

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All is not lost despite the Colombo debacle

S. Ram Mahesh

India needs to tighten its bowling and out-cricket

— PHOTO: AFP

BETTER FINGERS, NOT BUTTER! Indian catching was a big letdown in the first Test and the fielders will have to take a leaf out of Rahul Dravid’s book for the visitor to entertain any hope of squaring the series at Galle.

Galle: So spectacular was India’s batting meltdown in both innings of the first Test that what had gone before it faded in significance.

Few tours test a side’s game-toughness as severely as a trip to Sri Lanka. And no two departments are more susceptible than those which involve long hours in the field; it was India’s deficiencies in these departments that allowed Sri Lanka to set the agenda at the SSC.

Sri Lanka’s batsmen have long made a habit of batting teams out of Tests and series at home, examining in the process the tourist’s reserves of concentration, courage, desire, resilience, skill, unity, and plain-old physical strength. India didn’t pass this test at the SSC, and central to the second Test beginning here on Thursday — and the series — will be the touring side’s ability to limit Sri Lanka’s batting.

Hope amidst gloom

Fortunately, amidst the gloom of the first Test was hope: despite failing to sustain pressure, India’s bowlers created chances; despite not succeeding in building with discipline to a dismissal through a combination of deliveries, each constricting the batsman, Anil Kumble’s bowling unit produced wicket-taking balls.

That these chances weren’t taken exacerbated the situation: frustration set in among the bowlers, compromising control. India’s second practice session at the Galle International Stadium, on Tuesday morning, wasn’t restricted to fielding (as it was on Monday afternoon when the practice wickets were wet), but the side appeared aware of the need to tighten the bowling and the out-cricket.

“Catching is something you always have to work on,” Robin Singh, the fielding coach, said after the near three-hour session. “It was probably the first game of the series, and most guys came into it without too much actual cricket. It’s one of those things, but generally speaking we are a good catching side.”

Fair point

Robin makes a fair point — India did out-catch Australia in Australia, but that tour involved more work standing back to the pacemen. Close-catching and keeping to spinners, however, are among the most difficult skills in cricket, particularly on hot, humid days, when the chances are so isolated it’s impossible to build rhythm.

The wicketkeeper sets the tone for the fielding side, his touch often determining how the fielders react. A neat, efficient keeper, who takes the spinners as softly as Prasanna Jayawardene, both settles and inspires a side.

Dinesh Karthik had a wretched match standing up, and it wasn’t surprising that the close catchers, barring Rahul Dravid at slip, looked ill at ease.

No clue, says Robin

Karthik, a natural athlete with an excellent eye, has worked over the past few days to perfect the repetition of motion essential in keeping to the spinners. Parthiv Patel, the other keeper in the squad, trained hard and batted in the first session of India’s staggered nets, and walked off with the captain in his ear.

Who will keep in the second Test? “I don’t have a clue,” said Robin.

India’s most impressive seamer during Tuesday’s practice was Munaf Patel, who made fine use of a moist practice strip (cut on the wicket square, which contains the strip for the Test).

Munaf’s control is something the Indian team might want to consider, particularly at a venue with a reputation of helping the seamers early in the day.

Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad played umpire when Zaheer Khan was bowling, monitoring if the left-armer, who had claimed opener Malinda Warnapura off a no-ball, was over-stepping.

In other action on Tuesday, Ishant Sharma gave Rahul Dravid a torrid time, Virender Sehwag reverse-swept Pragyan Ojha over the boundary line, and Sachin Tendulkar practised skipping down the track and lofting the spinners.

Was the show of aggression against spin a sign of things to come? “Well, if I tell you what our strategy is, there is no fun in it, is there?” asked Robin in reply.

“I think somebody will work out in time how to play (Ajantha) Mendis, and I’m sure the moment one guy probably plays him well, and we get a good start, it will be a totally different scenario. We have to pick ourselves up, and we are up for that. We did that in England, we did that in Australia, (and) most of the tours where we have fallen short at the start.”

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