India slides to disgraceful defeat

By S. Dinakar

COLOMBO, SEPT. 2. Dreams will be dreams, it's now time to grapple with the harsh reality. And the truth is, despite the hype, there is not too much depth in the Indian cricket scene.

Put them in a pressure-cooker situation of a Test match, and they would come apart like a pack of cards.

One witnessed this at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in the third and final Test, which the Indians lost by a massive innings and 77 runs. A disgraceful surrender on a flat wicket, with the side not even crossing the 300-run mark in either innings.

And on a pitch where four Sri Lankan batsmen made centuries, Shiv Sundar Das' 68 in the second innings was the highest by an Indian. Just where are the real heroes?

The Indian challenge in the series ended 67 minutes after play commenced, here on Sunday, when Zaheer Khan's miscued hit off ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was picked up by Marvan Atapattu at long-on.

India had been bowled out for 299, and Sri Lanka had scored a 2-1 victory in the three-Test Coca-Cola series. A fair result for the home team which was superior in all departments.

Zaheer had produced some brave strokes in his 45 (40b, 5x4, 2x6) but then it was a lost cause. It was fitting too that Muralitharan grabbed the final wicket of a series he had imposed himself upon.

The Lankans finished the job in a clinical fashion, after India resumed at 217 for six. The left-handed Hemang Badani, who has not done justice to his talent on this tour, had added just three to his overnight score of eight, when he played across the line to a Chaminda Vaas delivery which was angled into him from just outside the off-stump and was struck well in line.

Comedy of errors

The comedy of errors in the Indian running between the wickets continued when Dighe drove Muralitharan to mid-on, took off for a run, but found Harbhajan Singh not budging from the non-striker's end. Dighe was miles short, when 'keeper Kumara Sangakkara whipped off the bails, after the `man with the golden throw,' Marvan Atapattu, had relayed the ball swiftly to him.

Harbhajan, outclassed with the ball by Muralitharan in the series, tried to score a vain point with the bat, clouting the off-spinner over mid-wicket for a six, and then even daring to reverse sweep the maestro. However, Vaas snared the Sardar with a short delivery, Harbhajan's pull well taken by Atapattu, at a squarish fine-leg.

Zaheer, resorted to a bold course, striking Muralitharan for two sixes over long-on, with the second blow being a huge one, but the off-spinner soon nailed the Indian on the same stroke. A series was won, the Lankans converged in a heap, and there were smiles all around the home camp.

With 23 scalps in the series - 11 of them in this Test on a batsman-friendly surface - Muralitharan was easily the biggest difference between the two sides. Man of the Match and Series, the smiling Tamil from Kandy surely was. Muralitharan was easily the hero of Sri Lanka's Test series victory over India, that has come after 16 long years.

For skipper Sanath Jayasuriya this was a much needed triumph at home, following reverses against Pakistan and England in the last one year. That the victory margin in this Test is the joint highest in Lankan cricket history is a fact that doesn't project the Indian performance in very good light.

Test match cricket is all about application and character and Indian cricket is replete with instances of stirring fightbacks in the second innings. From Oval to Port of Spain, from Lahore to Melbourne.

The story that unfolded at the SSC ground was in stark contrast to those glorious tales, with tame strokes and `panic- stricken' running between the wickets, more evident than long hours of concentration at the crease.

Rahul Dravid, the one man in the current team with a heart for battle, was a victim of a needless run-out, and the rest of the innings was a mere formality.

Missed opportunity

And as skipper Ganguly himself admitted later, this was no time for excuses. True, Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman were absent, yet it still was an away series in the sub-continent, and represented a wonderful opportunity for the youngsters to build a strong case for themselves. They came up woefully short.

A surfeit of one-day cricket has meant that in situations where a match has to be saved, many of the Indian batsmen have no clue about approaching the job on hand.

And the less said about the Indian bowling the better. Venkatesh Prasad alone strove manfully, and had he received adequate support, might have picked up more wickets too. Zaheer Khan appeared struggling with an injury, and Harbhajan discovered the Lankans, who get to play Muralitharan at the nets, know more than a thing or two about handling off-spinners.

After the match it was time for post-match press conferences as usual. And Jayasuriya's most telling remark was that he would have bowled first had he won the toss, for the SSC pitch had a bit of bounce on the first day, ``I'm being honest about this,'' he said.

The Lankan captain was lavish in his praise for Muralitharan. ``Murali has so much variety, the off-spin, the straighter one, he can even bowl the leg-break.''

He revealed that the Lankan batsmen had a little discussion before the Test, where they decided to consolidate on the starts, and was extremely pleased about veteran Hashan Tillekeratne's century, ``there was so much pressure on him,'' and the debut hundred by all-rounder Thilan Samaraweera, ``he's really talented.''

Jayasuriya admitted to being a little concerned after his side lost at Kandy, but added he was confident after the Indian collapse on day one. About the Indian batting in the second innings, he remarked, ``I knew they would panic at some stage. They had to bat for two days.''

Ganguly said the side had paid the price for the first innings debacle, was lavish in his appreciation of Muralitharan, and added that his own bowlers were pretty ordinary in this Test.

Despite Harbhajan's lack of success in this series, Ganguly said, ``He's a quality bowler. He just has to keep his head on his shoulders.''

Wright stresses on fundamentals

Coach John Wright noted that four soft dismissals and three run outs in the Test hurt the side. ``We have to be rock-solid in the fundamentals,'' he said and stressed on physical conditioning. ``Batsmen who are set should be able to carry on, and a paceman has to be as quick at the end of the day as he is at the beginning of it.''

He observed the team had to concentrate on basics like running between the wickets, fielders keeping the pressure on the batsmen and bowlers operating to their field - simple things that did not happen in the Colombo Test.

It was sad that the coach was talking about an INDIAN team not even able to get the elementary things right.

Wright said Murali was ``without peer'' among the off- spinners, and added, he was a big challenge for the young batsmen, not to speak of the experienced customers.

Muralitharan was indeed the cynosure of all eyes. Four Lankans produced centuries, yet it was a bowler who walked away with all the honours. Who said this was a batsman's game?

Scoreboard

INDIA - 1st innings: 234

SRI LANKA - 1st innings: 610 for six wkts. decl.

INDIA - 2nd innings:

S. S. Das c Tillekeratne b Muralitharan          68
(165m, 161b, 11x4)
S. Ramesh b Muralitharan                         55
(229m, 165b, 4x4)
R. Dravid (run out)                              36
(152m, 124b, 4x4)
S. Ganguly c Jayawardene b Samaraweera           30
(148m, 103b, 2x4, 1x6)
Mohd. Kaif (run out)                              5
(31m, 29b)
Hemang Badani lbw b Vaas                         11
(75m, 66b, 1x4)
S. Bahutule b Jayasuriya                          0
(4m, 2b)
S. Dighe (run out)                                4
(48m, 38b)
Harbhajan Singh c Atapattu b Vaas                17
(33m, 20b, 1x4, 1x6)
Zaheer Khan c Atapattu b Muralitharan            45
(45m, 40b, 5x4, 2x6)
V. Prasad (not out)                               4
Extras (b-8, lb-5, nb-9, w-2)                    24
                                                ---
Total                                           299
                                                ---

Fall of wickets: 1-107 (Das), 2-147 (Ramesh), 3-186 (Dravid),  4-
196 (Kaif), 5-210 (Ganguly), 6-211 (Bahutule), 7-221 (Badani), 8-
221 (Dighe), 9-269 (Harbhajan).

Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 27-9-62-2 (nb-3), Fernando 17- 3-59-0 (w-
1, nb-3), Muralitharan 46.4-17-109-3 (nb-2), Jayasuriya 21-10-34- 
1, Liyanage 5-0-12-0, Samaraweera 8-4-10-1 (w-1, nb-1).

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