Jayasuriya puts Sri Lanka in command

By S. Dinakar

GALLE, AUG. 15. It was a rollicking, relentless, ruthless onslaught. A fast bowling display of searing intensity, a scorching hundred at the top of the order, and the Test had turned on its head.

Dilhara Fernando's express deliveries from the Galle Fort end - perhaps the paceman was inspired by the sight of the majestic structure each time he walked back to the top of his run-up - rocked the Indian batting in the first hour.

The breeze blowing across the ground from the nearby Indian Ocean might have been pleasant, but on the field of play, the Indians were swept away by `Hurricane Jayasuriya.' All the weather predictions did not get this one quite right!

At the end of the second day of the first Test at the Galle Stadium on Wednesday, Sri Lanka, in reply to India's meagre 187, was already 264 for three, with wicketkeeper batsman Kumara Sangakkara (54) and Russel Arnold (19) at the crease.

After falling grossly short of expectations with the bat, the Indians appeared a disjointed unit on the field as well, a team that had taken a mental pounding.

Without taking any credit away from Jayasuriya (111, 138b, 16x4, 1x6), who cashed in on the offerings with typical ruthlessness, it must be conceded that the experienced Indian pacemen Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad fed the dashing southpaw on his strength, providing him the room and the width outside the off- stump.

It is common knowledge that Jayasuriya is not the same batsman when forced to drive in front of the wicket, and the Indian pacemen operated to a grossly wrong length against the Lankan captain.

And, even if the idea was to bowl short, it should have been closer to Jayasuriya's body, cramping him for room and space - Zaheer finally got this right, but by then, the damage had been done.

Jayasuriya, blazed away right from the beginning, smashing a listless Prasad square of the wicket, flicking him effortlessly, and then swinging the paceman over mid-wicket.

For much of the innings, he continued in the same vein, however, it was his onslaught on Srinath, in his second spell, that brought the small crowd to its feet. He unleashed two rasping square-cuts off the bowler, the ball streaking to the fence, and then exploded in the paceman's 11th over, cutting him over point for a six, besides picking up two more boundaries. The Lankan captain reached his hundred (105b, 16x4, 1x6) in a much quieter manner, glancing Prasad for a single, and along with the crowd, the Indians on the field applauded too.

Jayasuriya departed soon after tea, nicking a well- directed lifter from Zaheer for Dravid to take a high scorcher at first slip, however, he had more than done his job by then, registering his eighth Test hundred.

Earlier, the aesthetically pleasing Marvan Atapattu (33, 95b, 2x4), who went down on his knees to caress Srinath through the covers, played a useful supporting role in the 101- run stand for the first wicket (27.5 overs). He was looking set for bigger things, when he pushed forward to a flighted off-break from Harbhajan, and was a `pad-glove' victim, with Hemang Badani taking the catch at silly point.

Mahela Jayawardene essayed a couple of attractive shots, but perished soon after the 40-minute post-tea break caused by brief showers, driving at a widish Srinath delivery for Sameer Dighe to pouch the edge.

Kumara Sangakkara, who walked in at No. 3, might have been lucky to see Dravid drop a sharp chance at slip, when the batsman attempted to cut Harbhajan, but held his end up, and settled to play a couple of fine shots, none better than a rasping cut off Srinath. Already on a half century, he is looking good for more.

Earlier in the day, Dilhara Fernando, who had opened the sluice gates with two telling strikes late on day one, cut a swathe through the later order, the Indian innings lasting just 55 minutes into the first session.

India was bundled out for 187 and it was Fernando's fiery burst of 5-2-10-3 that did the damage. His figures with the second new ball were even more impressive - 7-2-18-5, destructive it surely was.

This morning, the ball was still new, there was a certain freshness in the pitch and the young predator began hustling the Indians with his pace, bounce and aggression.

However, he might have been fortunate about his first scalp on Wednesday - skipper Sourav Ganguly. It was a mean delivery alright, climbing sharply into the Indian captain, and wicketkeeper Sangakkara was up in a flash, making an acrobatic over-head collection.

Umpire Asoka de Silva responded to the vociferous appeal, but it did appear that the ball had brushed Ganguly's shoulder rather than the glove. This was a key wicket and the Indians had begun on the wrong note.

Whatever be the merits of the decision, the truth of the matter is Ganguly is vulnerable against the short ball these days. The word is out and any bowler with an element of pace is having a go at the Indian captain.

Ganguly's run of Test scores since the start of the Australia series has been disappointing. Even more interestingly, during this phase, he has produced useful runs in the ODIs, which suggests the skipper is not seriously out of form. So it all boils down to an inability, even if temporary, to cope with specific challenges at the Test level. The time has arrived for Mr. Ganguly to show the way, lead by personal example.

Back to Fernando and the Indian collapse. Javagal Srinath, surprisingly promoted ahead of Harbhajan, took a nasty one from Fernando on his left glove and soon made his way to the pavilion, retired hurt.

Harbhajan, cracked a spanking cover-drive off Fernando, but was rattled by an express delivery from Fernando, that crashed onto his pads and then rolled on to his stumps.

He struck again, Dighe ducking awkwardly against a lifter, sticking his bat up, and the ball clipping the willow before nestling into the gloves of Sangakkara. However, Fernando also received his second warning for running onto the danger area during this phase, and he will have to be careful here.

When Venkatesh Prasad had little clue about a Muralitharan delivery that rearranged his stumps, the Indian innings had come to an abrupt end - Srinath did not come out to bat unwilling to risk further injury to his hand. The last nine wickets had fallen for a shocking 82 runs, the early initiative was lost, and it was pretty ordinary batting.

And as he led the team back to the pavilion, Fernando, a simple 22-year-old from the coastal town of Kandana, sported a shy smile, almost reluctant to take in all the adulation. Watch out for this lad, he could be a star.

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