Murali delights with a cameo

By S. Dinakar

KANDY, AUG. 24. The chase is very much on, and it will be a fight to the finish for the Indians after a day that had a bit of everything. Fine bowling by seamers Venkatesh Prasad and Zaheer Khan, a Lankan collapse in the afternoon, then an utterly `original' half century by Muttiah Muralitharan, followed by dogged batting by the visitors in the evening. Test match cricket in all its splendor and glory.

Two hundred and nine more to get in two days, with nine wickets remaining. There is a match to be won, a dream to be pursued. A victory would mean India lives to fight another day in the Test series, and a setback, yet another painful away series defeat.

So when Sadagopan Ramesh (15) and Rahul Dravid (11) walk out to resume India's challenge on Saturday morning, there will be a lot at stake. There are no devils on this pitch, and the Kandy Test is on the boil.

At stumps at the Asgiriya Stadium on the third day of the second Test, here, on Friday, India, requiring 264 in two days and 39 overs, was 55 for one, with bad light stopping play 16 overs before the scheduled allotment was completed for the day.

It has not been easy so far, and it will be a rough journey on what is likely to be a decisive fourth day. Pride, application and character are the need of the hour.

When India began its quest, it was the experienced Chaminda Vaas and not Dilhara Fernando who breathed fire. In fact, Das was all at sea against this experienced left-arm paceman, surviving a very close leg-before shout, and then being castled by a `no- ball' that whipped in even as he shouldered arms.

The openers added 42 in 18.2 overs before Muralitharan finally achieved the breakthrough curling the ball past the outside edge and into the stumps as Shiv Sundar Das pushed forward.

Ramesh, who clipped Fernando delectably to the fence earlier, and Dravid, lucky that a sharp off-break from the ace off-spinner, beat his drive, but missed his stumps by a whisker, will have to see India through a tentative early phase on Saturday.

Murali delights crowd

Yet, India's task could have been so much easier but for the 76- minute 64-run last wicket partnership between Muralitharan (67, 65b, 3x6, 5x4), and Ruchira Perera. Local hero Murali, to the delight of his home crowd, bravely gave all bowlers a charge, attempted to swing just about everything to leg, and a little bit of common sense could have done the trick for India.

Instead one saw needless field and bowling changes, the captain appeared to lose his cool and panic set in the Indian ranks. Kandy's favourite son twice swung Prasad for sixes, reached his first Test half-century by cutting Ganguly for a single, raised his hands in sheer joy, proceeded to win a little duel with Harbhajan Singh striking him over the long-off boundary, before the Indian offie had him caught by Ramesh in the deep.

It was wholesome entertainment for the crowd, which relished every minute of Murali's stay at the wicket that saw the off- spinner even refusing singles to have more of the strike! For the Indians, the last hurdle proved frustrating and the 30-minute break before tea, due to a brief spell of rain, did not help matters either.

India meant business straightaway in the morning though, Zaheer Khan snaring Kumara Sangakkara with a well pitched up delivery on the off-stump that moved away just a shade, 'keeper Dighe diving to his left to hold a fine low catch.

Marvan Atapattu (45, 88b, 7x4), drove Venkatesh Prasad gorgeously through the covers, however, the Karnataka seamer had the last laugh, drawing the Lankan into a tentative forward push and Dighe flinging himself to his right this time, pulled off a stunning low catch in front of first slip.

On their part, Zaheer and Prasad, the former's youthful energy and the latter's experience complementing each other, bowled a probing line around the off- stump, seldom allowing the batsmen room to wade into them.

In fact, Ganguly had as many as eight fielders on the off-side, that often included three slips and a gully, leaving the third man unguarded. The idea was simple - to grab wickets. And the key word was `discipline' that eventually turned the heat on the Lankan batsmen.

Test match cricket is all about creating pressure and maintaining it, and Prasad and Zaheer, until they ran out of ideas against Muralitharan's unorthodox methods, did just that.

First innings hero Mahela Jayawardene, batting with the customary flair, looked dangerous yet again, but fell when in sight of bigger things, driving away from the body when Zaheer angled one across the right-hander from over the wicket, Badani completing a waist-high catch at second slip.

Soon, Russel Arnold averaging over 40 in ODIs, but still just under 30 in Tests, returned a disappointed man, playing across to a delivery that straightened from Zaheer, and seeing umpire Steve Bucknor's finger go up. Lanka went to lunch at 124 for five, Tillekeratne and all-rounder Suresh Perera together.

The pre-lunch spell was marked by fine bowling by Prasad and Zaheer. Prasad sent down a testing spell of 8-4-17-1 from the Hunasgiriya end while Zaheer had a brief break of two overs between two bursts that read 5-1-15-1 & 5-1-16-2. The `right- left' pace combination also meant that the batsmen could not really settle down due to the constant shift in the line of attack.

And in the period after the lunch-break, Prasad, who has endured through a frustrating period in the last six months, cut a swathe through the latter order, bringing back some old memories.

A `dream' spell that included four wickets in 16 balls until Muralitharan's blitz woke him and the Indians up.

It all started with the scalp of the chancy S. Perera, who drove airily at Prasad, got the outside edge, and Hemang Badani did wonderfully well to latch on to the ball, falling to his right at second slip. He thus made amends for an earlier lapse at the same position putting down a flier, when Perera, on four then, slashed at Ganguly.

Hashan Tillekeratne, has played many a brave innings for Sri Lanka, but the southpaw is struggling for survival in his comeback. This time around he made just 16, before trying to work Prasad through mid-wicket and being trapped in front.

Umpire Wijayawardene responded positively to another Prasad appeal soon when Vaas made his exit, attempting to play a straight ball across the line. Prasad, a shrewd customer, sent down some trade-mark legcutters in the morning, but wisely attacked the stumps in the afternoon, when there was less moisture in the wicket.

The logic was simple - if the batsmen missed he was on target. And that's exactly what happened when Dilhara Fernando took a swipe at the canny seamer. Fernando's wicket also meant a moment of personal triumph for Prasad, his seventh five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

For Sri Lanka, it was rapid downhill slide after lunch with the home side crashing from 137 for five to 157 for nine - at this stage it was just 199 ahead. And once again, India failed to tighten the noose.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA - 1st innings: 274

INDIA - 1st innings: 232

SRI LANKA - 2nd innings:

Marvan Atapattu c Dighe b Prasad             45
(124m, 88b, 7x4) 

Sanath Jayasuriya b Zaheer                    6
(19m, 5b, 1x4)
Kumara Sangakkara c Dighe
b Zaheer                                     13
(62m, 46b, 1x4)
Mahela Jayawardene c Badani
b Zaheer                                     25
(80m, 65b, 3x4)
Hashan Tillekeratne lbw b Prasad             16
(112m, 64b, 2x4)
Russel Arnold lbw b Zaheer                    4
(11m, 8b, 1x4)
Suresh Perera c Badani b Prasad              15
(50m, 26b, 3x4)
Chaminda Vaas lbw b Prasad                    4
(20m, 14b)
Muttiah Muralitharan c Ramesh
b Harbhajan                                  67
(94m, 65b, 3x6, 5x4)
Dilhara Fernando b Prasad                     4
(4m, 5b, 1x4)
Ruchira Perera (not out)                      6
(76m, 28b)
Extras (b-4, lb-7, nb-5)                     16
                                            ---
Total                                       221
                                            ---

Fall  of  wickets:  1-20 (Jayasuriya),  2-52  (Sangakkara),  3-84 
(Atapattu), 4-108 (Jayawardene), 5-115 (Arnold), 6-137  (Perera), 
7-140 (Tillekeratne), 8-153 (Vaas), 9-157 (Fernando).

India  bowling:  Zaheer  23-4-76-4,  Harvinder  8-1-25-0  (nb-1), 
Prasad  21-7-72-5, Ganguly 10-4-21-0 (nb-3), Harbhajan  4.3-2-16- 
1.

INDIA- 2nd innings:

Shiv Sundar Das b Muralitharan               19
(83m, 51b, 2x4)
Sadagopan Ramesh (not out)                   15
(103m, 66b, 2x4)
Rahul Dravid (not out)                       11
(19m, 13b, 2x4)
Extras (w-4, nb-6)                           10
                                            ---
Total (for one wkt.)                         55
                                            ---

Fall of wicket: 1-42 (Das).

Sri  Lanka bowling: Vaas 8-6-6-0 (nb-5), Fernando 4-1-  18-0,  R. 
Perera  5-1-7-0 (nb-1), Muralitharan 5-0-18-1, Jayasuriya  1-0-2- 
0.

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