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Fine batting sees India inch ahead

S. Ram Mahesh

Gambhir, Sehwag come good again; five-wicket haul by Harbhajan

— PHOTO: AFP

KEY TO THE SUCCESS: Excellent use of the feet against the spinners marked Gautam Gambhir’s batting on Saturday.

Galle: India’s batsmen broadened the benefit their bowlers had gained on Saturday morning, so that by stumps on the third day of this most engrossing of Test matches not even the late wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid could dull the spirit.

India, for the first time in the three-Test series, has its nose in front after ending Saturday on 200 for four in its second innings. Having terminated Sri Lanka’s first innings at 292, the touring side leads by 237 — a position of affairs that allows the contemplation of winning the second Test and evening the series.

There is work to be done yet. India fancies setting a target of over 350 before letting its bowlers loose, and that is still one substantial partnership away. Moreover, Anil Kumble’s men must guard against a swift counterattack on Sunday morning. The Sri Lankans, when pushed at home, are apt to strike suddenly, and in Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, they have the weapons.

Taking control

These weapons, however, were spectacularly blunted on Saturday afternoon during a phase that saw India take control. The importance of an opening pair that can attack fine bowling, not merely through skilful stroke-play but also through adept running, can not be stressed enough. In Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, India has just that.

Sehwag’s audacious 50, following his unselfish, unbeaten 201 in the first innings, allowed Gambhir time to settle. A feature of Gambhir’s 74 was the placement of his off- and cover-drives, several of them struck inside-out. The left-hander got into excellent positions, arranging his feet so they faced where he wanted the ball directed and created room for the bat to travel. The quickness of his eye and the steadiness of his base allowed him to delay the stroke; mediation from the bottom hand, sometimes a slice, other times a slap, inflected minute changes of course.

Fierce off-break

Gambhir was claimed by a fierce off-break from Mendis. The purchase the delivery obtained illustrated again the quality of the strip at the Galle International Stadium —deteriorating naturally and involving several facets of the game.

Dravid brought with him the bloody-mindedness that has characterised his illustrious career. Having looked out of sorts for some time now, the No. 3 batsman rediscovered his touch.

With Tendulkar affecting soundness, India seemed as if it might cruise to close with no further losses. But Tendulkar chased an off-cutter from Vaas to be caught at a wide slip, Dravid missed sweeping a full off-break from Muralitharan to be declared leg-before after a referral, and it was left to Sourav Ganguly to convince the umpires to offer the batsmen light an over later; tactical withdrawal is an art the charming left-hander knows particularly well.

Earlier Kumble and Harbhajan combined to dismiss Sri Lanka at the stroke of lunch. The day began with drama. The first over saw Kumble breaking a leggie across Prasanna Jayawardene and eliciting a right-handed take by Dravid at slip. The fielder appeared to have wormed his fingers under the ball, but the replays — as often happens when three dimensions are reduced to two — introduced enough doubt for the umpires to refuse the appeal.

Thereafter, the Jayawardenes, Mahela and Prasanna, batted till drinks — Mahela involved all the while in a cagey game with his counterpart.

Baffling field setting

The fields Kumble set to Mahela were baffling. He often attacked the batsman with two slips, but the absence of short-leg allowed Mahela to play the outside half of the ball. Stranger still were the men in the outfield, positioned between saving singles and protecting boundaries, but effectively doing neither.

Different captains favour different approaches to bowling at a specialist batsman and a lesser player, and Kumble, who was happy to give Mahela the single, will reason that the ends — the first-innings lead — justified the means. But we have jumped ahead of ourselves, and must return to the partnership between the Jayawardenes.

Prasanna fell in the over after drinks, squeezing a bat-pad catch to backward short-leg and giving Harbhajan his fifth wicket — only the off-spinner’s fifth such haul outside India. Kumble, after waiting 66.1 overs for his first wicket of the series, had Vaas pushing early at a googly to be caught in the covers.

Vital strike

Kumble then struck a vital blow, ending Mahela’s four-hour masterclass on handling spin with a crackling leg-break. Dinesh Karthik reacted well with his hands to take it on the second attempt.

A Kumble slider accounted for Mendis, a Harbhajan off-break did for Muralitharan, and India had earned the advantage.

Scoreboard

India — 1st innings: 329.

Sri Lanka — 1st innings: M. Vandort c Dravid b Zaheer 4, M. Warnapura c Gambhir b Harbhajan 66, K. Sangakkara c & b Harbhajan 68, M. Jayawardene c Karthik b Kumble 86, T. Samaraweera lbw b Harbhajan 14, T. Dilshan c Gambhir b Harbhajan 0, P. Jayawardene c Laxman b Harbhajan 24, C. Vaas c Harbhajan b Kumble 1, N. Kulasekara (not out) 5, A. Mendis lbw b Kumble 0, M. Muralitharan c Ganguly b Harbhajan 0; Extras (b-10, lb-12, nb-2) 24. Total (in 93.3 overs): 292.

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Vandort), 2-137 (Warnapura), 3-144 (Sangakkara), 4-192 (Samaraweera), 5-192 (Dilshan), 6-250 (P. Jayawardene), 7-255 (Vaas), 8-291 (M. Jayawardene), 9-291 (Mendis).

India bowling: Zaheer 9-1-51-1, Ishant 8-1-36-0, Kumble 36-7-81-3, Harbhajan 40.3-8-102-6.

India — 2nd innings: G. Gambhir b Mendis 74, V. Sehwag c Dilshan b Vaas 50, R. Dravid lbw b Muralitharan 44, S. Tendulkar c M. Jayawardene b Vaas 31, S. Ganguly (batting) 0, V.V.S. Laxman (batting) 0; Extras (lb-1) 1; Total (for four wkts. in 56.4 overs): 200.

Fall of wickets: 1-90 (Sehwag), 2-144 (Gambhir), 3-200 (Tendulkar), 4-200 (Dravid).

Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 13-4-32-2, Kulasekara 5-0-31-0, Muralitharan 21-1-70-1, Mendis 17.4-3-66-1.

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