Cricket: Sri Lanka thrashes futile Indian bowling in Colombo Test
Sri Lankan batsmen were in phenomenal form as they dominated the Indian bowling on the first day of the second Test at SSC. SSC, which is considered the citadel of Sri Lankan cricket, was a nightmare for Indians as their bowlers were thrashed all over the park. Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana kept their extraordinary form continuing as both the batsmen scored centuries for the second successive time against the World No. 1 team. Indians are equally blamed as they produced below par bowling on a track, which offered no movement or bounce.
The toss turned out to be vital and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 was not lucky enough as he lost the toss for the second successive time. The absence of swing and the lack of movement combining with poor lengths from the bowlers allowed the Sri Lankan openers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Paranavitana to seize the initiative in the opening session of the first day.
The only breakthrough which provided some hope for visitors was the wicket of Dilshan but a brilliant counter-attack from Sangakkara dashed that too. It made the Lankan tigers’ intent clear, of putting a big total on scoreboard. The pitch offered relatively more bounce than the wicket of Galle but Indian spinners failed to capitalize on it. Sri Lankan batsmen led by Sangakkara took Indian spinners head-on as they dominated them from the first ball till the end of the day. As a result of attacking approach of Sri Lankan batsmen, Dhoni was forced to set a defensive field. In the very over in which Pragyan Ojha sent Dilshan to the pavilion, Sangakkara made full use of his feet and fired a shot to point for four and then gallantly stepped out to loft him over mid-on.
In the absence of a front-line attack, Harbhajan Singh was responsible for leading the Indian bowling but he failed miserably. The ease with which he was handled summarized the dominance of Sri Lankan batting over India bowling. Harbhajan used a variety of deliveries but the left-handed batsmen used the away spin to play him through cover and point, using their feet when the ball was pitched up.
The fast bowlers in the form of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 finished the day with the score of 312 for 2 with Sangakkara unbeaten on 130.
Sri Lanka will be going in the second day full of confidence as the pitch is expected to provide more support to batsmen. Sri Lankan opener, Dilshan is hopeful that the Lankan tigers will post meaty total on the scoreboard. Talking to reporters, he said, “The second day is the best day to bat on the SSC pitch and we have our two most experienced batsmen at the crease - Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. If we score over 550 on this wicket we can put pressure on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and get a decision in our favour. It is a superb wicket to bat on and I am disappointed I got out for 54”.
Commenting on the pitch and the absence of Malinga, Dilshan said, “We have confidence in the two quicks Dammika Prasad and Dilhara Fernando. They can bowl more than 140-plus (kph) and they can get some bounce and pace off this wicket. By the third and fourth days I am sure the spinners should do the job for us. We have confidence in these four bowlers.” He further added, “It's a big loss without Lasith [Malinga] who took seven wickets in the last Test, but Dilhara and Prasad have got an opportunity to cement their places in the team. I hope they make use of that advantage”.
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