Mumbai mystery awaits Sri Lankans
Posted on Nov 28, 2009 at 14:04 | Updated Nov 29, 2009 at 14:41
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As India celebrate Sri Lanka are left to ruminate, as the Test series heads for Mumbai and uncertain pitch conditions. After all, it is 36 years since the last (drawn) Test was played at Brabourne Stadium. Why Sri Lanka were still nine years from being granted full membership of that old boys coterie the International Cricket Council and most players on either side weren't even born and those that were, had other priorities. One was learning to walk.
So far there has been no indication of what to expect. It is one of those conundrums, as the owners, the Cricket Club of India, have not said too much over the past few weeks about the state of the venue or what the groundsman expects. Which, it seems is like waiting for the impossible. Too much focus has been on that other venue in Green Park where India eventually wrapped up an impressive victory by an innings and 144 runs and well inside four days.
Being India's 100th Test victory is a bonus against a side that was so full of itself at the start of the series. Only in this game, the difference between the image presented at Motera and Green Park in scruffy Kanpur is the way Sri Lanka played - badly. They performed more like bottom-placed Bangladesh in the ICC Test rankings than the team perched second behind South Africa and ahead of India and Australia.
This time, not only did their batting let them down. Their bowling, until Rangana Herath bowled that spell late on the second afternoon, generally gave the impression they were always searching for answers. It became quite an embarrassment. Twice the top-order capitulated and of course there are the usual comments of how poorly Tharanga Paranavithana but no one mentions Tillakaratne Dilshan or for that matter Angelo Mathews in the lower order.
Not doubt it is why the Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara tried to explain the defeat without saying outright how they were outplayed (that came later), and how Shanthakumaran Sreesanth made all the difference with Sri Lanka unable to find answers to his tactical streetwise skills in seam, cut and drift.
"It was a very good surface (to bat on)," Sangakkara admitted. "It did have a bit in it for a few overs then became slower and slower and made it a difficult to (to play strokes)."
Hmmm... Fair enough. Yet, the problem with the comment is why did India's top four do so well? Three centuries explains a lot.
"(An) exceptional performance by Sreesanth and a great first innings by India, and a poor one from us and that decided the match," he agreed. And you cannot argue with that. But it still doesn't explain where the fault lies. Was it because Sri Lanka tried so hard in putting that 760 for seven wickets, declared innings together in Motera that they found their concentration levels at a low ebb. What about India then?
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