It seems like a distant nightmare than the famed Indian batting was struggling to survive against the spin of Mendis and guile of Muralitharan. Certainly the way these young guns have batted, Sri Lanka have found the tables turned. Has the momentum shifted with a signboard that reads ‘No Return’, not only in the context of the series, but in the shape that the future of India intends to take.
After the endless wait for the rain to recede, it came rather as a relief that the match was eventually called of, the match in question being the fourth one day international between India and Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium. But the prospect of a reserve day, it made little sense to hang around what appeared to be a rather wet day. The second day held no such qualms as the game finally got underway with India setting the pace that perhaps would prove a touch too much for the Sri Lanka who are fighting to keep the series alive, trailing 1-2 to the visitors.
With the toss becoming somewhat of a deciding factor, India were lucky in that Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and promptly elected to bat. Virat Kohli is showing an incredible amount of presence of mind. It would not have been easy to be thrust into the international side on the back of an under- 19 World Cup victory. But drafted he was and though the level of the opponents’ game would have been superior, it was up to Kohli to rise to the occasion.
Kohli shines where Yuvraj fails…
It is not always easy to find one’s feet in international waters. But Kohli, like Rohit Sharma in the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia, is showing that all he needs is a lot more exposure at this level before he can make the necessary shift in terms of adjustment. Opening the innings with Gautam Gambhir with Virender Sehwag ruled out of the series with injury, Kohli made his most significant knock in the crucial fourth one day international.
His half century was even more relevant in light of the two dismissals, especially that of Gautam Gambhir. Much was dependent on Gambhir, the other opener who held India’s pride through the grueling Test series. But one false shot off Kulsekara saw the end of him. Kohli though was determined and this time, he was intent on building on the start he had in the previous matches.
But the next wicket was even more exasperating. Someone perhaps forgot to remind Yuvraj Singh that he is no longer playing the tour match. After a promising century in that game, Yuvraj has not really shown the temperance to stay and fight it out like his younger contemporaries. Instead he appears to be stuck in the mould of the fab four. On another day, that would have been a compliment. On this tour, it was downright dangerous towing the lines of uncertainty. A duck for Yuvraj, another disappointing failure. (How does he intend to seal a place in the Test series by the end of the year unless the selectors shirk in fear at a few retirements and decide to get him in ahead of more enterprising men like Raina, Sharma or even Kohli?) He may have not given India much to cheer about but Chaminda Vaas was certainly not complaining. Yuvraj was his 400th scalp in one day internationals and he would not mind that name attached to it.
Dhoni-Raina at it again
Kohli’s dismissal after making a deserving half century was disappointing. But with the score on par, at eighty-one for three in the nineteenth over, it was once again up to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina, the partnership builders from the previous game, to do it once again for India. The 143 run partnership for the fourth wicket proved agonizing for the Sri Lankans and it showed in their body language. The frustration was becoming apparent and Raina and Dhoni kept flicking the balls off their pads, using the reverse sweep and importantly, showing deft feet movement to unsettle the flight and line of the delivery. It was an unintentional but remarkable display of thwarting a bowler that has been the nemesis of the Indians on this tour, Ajantha Mendis.
India seemed poised terrifically to take the series at the forty over mark on 215 for three. But Dhoni appeared to be tiring and suffering from what appeared to be cramps. Suresh Raina perished going for a big one, having made seventy-six. And that seemed to have automatically transferred the pressure back to Dhoni who did not survive long after giving Thushara his third wicket of the innings. Thushara would eventually get his five-fer for the match.
The slow nature of the pitch caught up after the established duo left the crease. Runs became hard to get and while India were expected to end in a flourish, they whimpered towards the end. On this slow pitch, India still stand a good chance with 258 on board, adding just forty-three in the final ten overs. But their slippery end has left the gate open just a little bit too wide for comfort.
