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'Mad Max' does it again for Sri Lanka

Prem Panicker

With the scoreboard reading 316/7 Sri Lanka at the end of day one of the second and final Test in this series, the instant diagnosis would be that Sachin Tendulkar's ploy of inserting the opposition after winning the toss has backfired.

Such snap analysis, though, has a way of snapping right back at you. A more prolonged consideration, thus, would indicate that Tendulkar's decision has worked out more in his favour than appears on the surface.

First up, by inserting the opposition, Tendulkar ensured that his own batting lineup was not exposed to the three Lankan fast medium bowlers, two of them left-arm. And if that sounds a cowardly approach, well, that's just emotionalism - when you find conditions good for bowling and insert the opposition, one of the reasons always is to save your own batsmen the bother of coping.

The second reason is more important. While 316 - which, given that Aravinda D'Silva is still at the crease and batting 144, could translate into 350 or more before the innings comes to a close - looks a good enough score for the Lankan quicks to put pressure on the Indians, the flip side is that this wicket should get easier to bat on during days two and three.

That's the funny thing about wickets like this. Remember that this wicket has had three ODIs played on it just a week ago - so the grass now on it is just fresh, and tender. It does provide spring and bounce early on, but as the sun beats down and browns it, as the ball pounds into it over and over for 90 overs in course of a day, it gets beaten down and loses a lot of life. Over the next day or two, thus, it typically plays easier, before wearing off in patches and providing increasing purchase to spinners.

In other words, the Indian batsmen should find batting a lot easier when it comes to their turn at strike - which is not to say that Vaas, Sajeewa D'Silva and Pushpakumara won't get bounce and nip out of this wicket, but it will be very surprising if the assistance the pitch provides is sufficiently alarming to worry an inform batting lineup.

But all that is by way of wraparound analysis - here is what actually happened.

For a team that has been talking about wanting to force a result here, India's changes in personnell were certainly strange. First up, both spinnners, Chauhan and Kulkarni, were dropped. Debashish Mohanty coming in for Chauhan is understandable - this wicket called for the use of as many fast medium bowlers as you can possibly fit in. But why Kulkarni, who with his height and high arm action should have got the ball to jump about on this track, was replaced by Ajay Jadeja beats me.

Was the thinking this, that on a seaming track, the Indian batting needs strengthening? If that is the case, first up it argues a lack of confidence in the collective ability of Sidhu, Ganguly, Dravid, Azhar and skipper Tendulkar himself - three of whom had made 100s in the last game and the fourth had got a 50-plus score. And more to the point, if that was the intention then why Jadeja, whose forays into the Test arena, that too at the top of the order, hasn't been too successful? If Tendulkar wanted a regular opener, then Khoda, who scored a good 50-plus in the tour game earlier, could have been given the job. Better still, Saurav Ganguly could have been upped to the top, and Vinod Kambli brought in to beef up the middle - a ploy that would have given India yet another left-hander, against a team going in with two left-arm quicks and a left arm spinner in Jayasuriya.

Donno about you, but Jadeja's presence in this lineup doesn't seem to make sense any way you look at it.

In the event, India inserted the opposition and, right from ball one, it was evident that the wicket had bounce and movement off the seam - though not the kind of alarming, atmosphere induced swing that had reduced Pakistan to 30 for five when India played them in the rain-ruined league game of the Asia Cup.

Sanath Jayasuriya decided to hit his way out of trouble - in the process, hitting the Indian bowlers off length and line. 32 runs scored with 8 boundaries looks very impressive - except when you consider that the batsman, out of 38 balls faced, could play only 8 scoring strokes, which is really more of an indicator of uncertainity than the reverse. And sure enough, Jayasuriya - who got over half his boundaries through uppish slashes and hoiks, perished driving at a wide one outside off, to edge to Tendulkar at first slip and give Debashish Mohanty his debut Test wicket.

Atapattu was playing a lot straighter and neater - but for that very reason, looking far more subdued against some good line and length bowling by the Indian medium pacers. Thus his dismissal - driving with feet stationary at a ball from Prasad wide of off stump and going still wider, for Azhar to take a regulation catch at second slip, came as something of a surprise. True, the batsman looked a shade tentative throughout his innings, unsure whether the ball was going away from, or coming in to, him - but that false stroke came just when he was beginning to middle the ball well.

Roshan Mahanama showed the value of a big knock. So totally out of touch in the early stages of his marathon innings in the first Test, the elegant right hander had obviously batted himself back into form, and was middling his strokes from the get-go, here. In fact, he looked in such ominous touch that a century seemed his for the taking, when he had one of those rushes of the blood - do you suppose batsmen in form have periods when they begin to feel invincible? - and chased at a Mohanty delivery outside off and seaming away, to touch it into Azharuddin's hands at second slip.

Arjuna Ranatunga has been in incredible touch thus far, but the introduction of Saurav Ganguly into the attack produced a change of pace which, in turn, induced the error. In fact, bowling Ganguly to Ranatunga was a good move - the medium pacer's natural ball is the late inswinger which, for the left-hander, is the ball leaving his bat. Ganguly pitched one on off stump, Ranatunga went after it, the movement away took the edge and Mongia completed the formalities of dismissal.

Mahela Jayawardene comes into the side with the reputation of being a heavy scorer against touring sides but frankly, thus far, he hasn't done enough to underline that hype. Like his peers, Jayawardene too perished to an extravagant drive outside off at Prasad, to depart courtesy Mongia. And soon after, Kaluwitharana - whose run of poor form continues, apparently - played all over a very well disguised slower ball from Kuruvilla, edging an airy off drive onto his leg stump.

Kuruvilla, in fact, bowled with the kind of control and direction he has lacked throughout this Indian tour. Funny thing about this Indian bowling lineup is that no two seamers click together - thus, if Prasad finds line and length, Kuruvilla loses it, and versa vice. Here it was Kuruvilla who came back into some sort of form, and another slower one had Vaas playing way too early, to have his stumps pegged back.

At this point, the Indian quicks - especially Prasad, who on the day has had a forgettable day at the office - lost his head. Instead of testing Muralitharan with deliveries pitched right up and seaming away, he opted to bounce at the tailender - who for his part played the kind of hook shots a Kapil Dev would have loved to have on his curriculum vitae. And the opportunity to have a few free swings at the bowling gave the Lankan offie so much confidence that his partner took to taking a single off the first ball of each over and letting Murali have the bulk of the strike.

Which brings us to Aravinda D'Silva - who if he had his wish would probably want to play every match on the SSC pitch. This is his third successive Test century on this track, following on the century in each innings he recorded against Pakistan.

What is amazing about Aravinda's batsmanship, in the period beginning with the 1996 World Cup, is his maturity. He has always been a strokeplayer par excellence - but in earlier times, he was prone to allow over confidence to get the better of him, and end up getting out to shots that stank of irresponsibility.

The makeover from Mad Max to Mister Reliable perhaps owes its genesis to an incident in that island's recent cricket history, dating to just prior to the World Cup. The board, at that time, was on collision course with its players, and one of the measures used to harass the latter was a fitness test which, surprising, Ranatunga passed while Aravinda failed. As a result, Aravinda was dropped from the side - and Ranatunga promptly pulled out of the team, refusing to lead it to Sharjah.

That act of selflessness, and Ranatunga's courage in standing behind a team mate in trouble, won him the total loyalty of Aravinda - and since that time, the Lankan deputy skipper could never do enough for his captain. And the biggest impact has been on his batting, today's innings being the perfect example. Though he did start out blazing shots all round the wicket - a Jayasuriya-like bid to batter the bowlers into submission - he promptly changed gears when his skipper got out, settling down to play the long, thoughtful, measured Test innings. Anything erring in length and line was promptly punished, as witness his 20 boundary hits - but for the most part, Aravinda concentrated on guiding the lower half of the team through the tests posed by the Indian bowling. And in the process, Aravinda himself has scored almost half the team score.

For the Indians, Prasad was, like the curate's egg, good in parts. However, his occasional good deliveries were offset by too many 'gimme' balls. Kuruvilla for his part kept a steady, consistent line and length right through, not doing too much, concentrating rather on making the batsmen play on or around the off stump. Kumble was his usual self - up and down, without at any stage looking like he was going to break through.

Which brings us to Debashish Mohanty. I remember during the Bangalore coaching camp, Madan Lal saying - with some justification, I thought, watching the Orissa lad bowl - that Mohanty would be a much better bowler if he could keep two successive deliveries on the same line.

Well, what do you know - here, he did keep the same line and length - and he was a much better bowler for it.

He has a rather peculiar, untutored action. No use of the left - leading - arm stretched in front of him for balance. No sign of the right hand moving from his side till the very last stride. Then a quick whippy up and over, off which he generates good nip and bounce. Not much sign of movement off the seam either way - the little movement he did get on the day more the result of seam hitting grass - but then, that was the case with Srinath when he started out, too.

Mohanty was easily the pick on the day, troubling all batsmen including Aravinda D'Silva. I guess it is par for the course that he bowled the least number of overs, Tendulkar apparently having forgotten all about him during the hours on either side of the tea break. Question is, will this lad go the way of Dodda Ganesh? One tour, then the axe, and an off hand comment from the chairman of selectors that he shows no improvement whatsoever?

Anyway, that is the situation at close. 316/7 Sri Lanka, and looking good, with Aravinda unconquered and India, as always, apparently incapable of finishing off the opposing tail in quick time, to take that above the 350 mark. Which puts the onus right on the Indian batting lineup - be interesting to see how they play the Lankan quicks.

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