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Agarkar back with a bang

Besides the eventual result, two items of interest for the spectator, as Lanka began its innings, was the performance of Ajit Agarkar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

The first, because he was coming back to the big time after a long injury layoff. The Venkatesh Prasad example suffices to indicate how tough that can be -- Cricketer of the Year before his injury, he's struggling to get among the wickets now.

Agarkar laid those fears in his very first spell, however, with a dream burst. The most noticeable facet was that his outswinger was going right from the first ball, and there was no evidence of his favouring his injured leg at all.

He has the happy knack of striking early and often, and three swift strikes here all but took the game away from the Lankans.

He was on length and line from his first ball, and Russell Arnold was visibly uncomfortable. In an attempt to break through, Arnold went to work ball number five to leg. It was an awayswinger from the right hander, pitching off, the movement in did the batsman, forced the leading edge and Kambli held an easy one at midwicket.

In his next over, Agarkar again produced an awayswinger, this time to the right-handed Jayawardene. Again the flick across the line found the leading edge, and mid on had an easy take.

But of the three dismissals, the one to get rid of Aravinda was the stand-out one. Agarkar had been bothering the batsman a touch with his away-swingers, in the previous over. This time, he started off with an awayswinger again, then pitched one in the same spot. Aravinda, playing for the one to leave him, rocked back to cut and found the ball darting back in off the seam, and took out the stump.

Avishka Gunawardene was looking good, playing fluidly on either side of the wicket, when a moment's lapse saw him lose his wicket to Nikhil Chopra. The ball was fullish in length, but Gunawardene opted to step back and play square, only for it to hurry though with the arm and trap him plumb in front.

Then followed a partnership between Hashan Tillekeratne and Arjuna Ranatunga that almost took the game away from India. During this phase, the Indian bowling looked largely clueless. A big problem at this point was the field placing -- a packed off side field meant that both the southpaws -- innovative players both -- could go across to off and milk boundaries in their favourite area, on the on.

The bowler to suffer most from that clinical assault was Laxmi Ratan Shukla -- the youngster will feel that his figures on debut don't quite do justice to the way he bowled. For those who haven't seen Shukla in action, he has a slightly diagonal, longish run in, an easy delivery stride and fluid action. Pacewise, he is in the medium-fast category, with a natural awayswinger, an ability to skid the ball in from the pitch, and the odd one that comes back in sharply off the seam.

During this phase, it seemed like Lanka had every chance of going through for the win. Chopra, who had been bowling well in the face of the onslaught, effected the breeakthrough when he tossed one right up, inviting Tillekeratne down the track to drive, then beating him in the air with the loop for Mongia, who had a superb day behind the stumps, to take the bails off.

At the other end, Ranatunga was going at over a run a ball, when tragedy struck. Ganguly, brought in to provide some cover for the regular bowlers, straightened one on line of the stumps and took the batsman just above the knee roll. The huge appeal was upheld -- Ranatunga, however, making his dissent clear by indicating a spot on his thigh where he thought he had been hit. (He hadn't -- the strike was clearly on the pad, and that little gesture will provide some interest to Cammie Smith). The catch though was that the ball was pitching clearly outside line of leg -- the bad decision by K S Giridharan putting an unfortunate end to a superb knock from the Lankan skipper.

From that point on, it was downhill all the way. In his next over, Ganguly slanted one across Ruwan Kalpage, holding it back a bit. The batsman stretched too far forward in defense, and Mongia, standing up, pulled off a superb stumping.

Hemanta Boteju, on his debut, let the pressure of the situation get to him, and aimed a heave at Ganguly that was intended to send the ball into orbit over midwicket. The ball, though, was too full for the shot, and ended up crashing into the stumps as the bat flailed over it.

Anil Kumble then struck in trademark fashion, going wide of the crease to angle a flipper in, from just outside off. Chandana rocked back to cut, the ball hastened off the pitch and took the off bail with it. And Ganguly finished the innings off in quick time when he held back another one, Vaas moved early into the drive, and ended up pushing it straight to Shukla at cover for the tamest of ends.

The Lankan rate of progression tells the tale: 22/2 in 5, 41/3 in 10, 59/3 in 15 and, at that point, completely out of the game. From there to 97/4 in 20, 130/4 in 25, 162/5 in 30, 192/7 in 35... at every point, they were ahead of the Indian strike rate, but the loss of those three early wickets, and the dismissal of Tillekeratne and Ranatunga just when the pair appeared to be batting India out of the game, were blows the chasing side couldn't recover from.

India have full points from this one. More crucially, India have a big game, the day after tomorrow, against Pakistan -- and that is the one to watch.

Meanwhile, MoM for his unbeaten 130, his record-breaking stand with Dravid, and his four-for haul, Saurav Ganguly -- who else could Cammie Smith have named in this game, anyway?

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