India XI vs. Sri Lanka Board President's XI: Day 1 Review
Sri Lanka Board President’s XI welcomed the Indian XI in an aggressive manner by smashing three centuries on the first day of the three-day warm up match at the Colts Cricket Club Ground in Galle. Upul Tharanga lashed out at all the Indian bowlers and was almost done with his century by the end of the first session. Lahiru Thirimanne, standing at the other end, supported Tharanga’s battering. Despite the loss of two quick wickets before tea, Thilina Kandamby continued his assault without giving any room to the Indian bowlers. Captain Thilan Samaraweera struggled at the start but gained confidence within no time. He joined Kandamby in mauling the visitors in the final session of the day as the score crossed the 400 mark for the Sri Lankan players.
The Indian bowling attack definitely missed Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth in the middle while spinner Harbhajan Singh failed to put pressure on the Board President’s XI. At one stage, the Indian bowlers had succeeded in curbing the run flow with two quick wickets but they failed to maintain it. Only four maiden overs were bowled on the first day which in itself is not a good omen for the days to come. As far as no balls and boundaries were concerned, the Indian attack remained quite generous to the hosts. In the 88.4 overs bowled on Day 1, 22 no balls were gifted by the Indian bowlers while fifty seven boundaries and 6 sixes were recorded by the Sri Lankan batsmen. These figures are ample proof of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750’s discouraging start to the Sri Lanka tour.
Samaraweera, after winning the toss, decided to start the rainy day with the bat. Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thilina Kandamby along with the captain himself proved that the decision was right. Openers Tharanga and Thirimanne provided a strong batting foundation by scoring 188 runs for the opening stand. On a humid day at Colombo, Tharanga opened his account with a boundary through the covers. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ishant-Sharma-c64566 troubled the Sri Lankan batsmen at the start but could not capitalize with the new ball. Both openers dealt in boundaries as Tharanga’s 110 runs innings included 20 fours and two sixes while Thirimanne’s 66 off 110 balls was completed with the aid of eight boundaries and a huge six.
After the lunch break, when the hosts had piled up164 runs on the board, the opening due seemed exhausted due to the heat. After scoring his century, Tharanga lost concentration and edged the ball to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 Board President’s XI had lost two wickets for just 21 runs. But between the fall of these two wickets, Ojha was mauled by Kandamby for two boundaries and a six in a single over, putting the pressure right back on the Indian side. The two boundaries were smashed over the mid-on and wide mid-on region while the six was hammered over midwicket which sailed into the paltry crowd present in the stadium.
Samaraweera could not start his innings like the other Sri Lankan batsmen. He struggled a bit as both Ojha and Mishra managed to beat him in the beginning. Kandamby on the other end kept on going by playing briskly. By the end of the second session of the day, Kandamby had scored an aggressive 57 runs from 59 deliveries while Samaraweera stood at 47 from 90 balls.
Samaraweera returned from tea in a totally different mood. After scoring 54 runs from 112 balls, he jumped to 85 off 125, hitting 31 runs of just 31 balls, mauling Mishra and Ojha across the ground. Kandamby, just like Upul Tharanga, failed to get the most out of his century and was stumped by Dhoni off Mishra at 101. Samaraweera also lost his wicket to Ojha soon after completing his century.
The Indian bowling was far more disappointing. The 22 no-balls show the below-par performance of the Indian attack. The situation is quite alarming and Dhoni should think over his strategy for the Sri Lankan tour if he wants his side to finish the test series as the number 1 test team in the world.
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