http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 lashes out of Colombo pitch
The second test match between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and Sri Lanka ended without any result, courtesy of the poor pitch prepared by the home curators. The pitch was a grave yard for fast bowlers which offered no assistance to the spinners either. Test cricket is already losing its fan following in the sub-continent because of the introduction of T20 cricket. Cricket manager’s in Asia need to make decisions that attract crowds instead of making pitches that offer the lowest quality of cricket to Asian fans. The match was played at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Captains of both teams criticised the pitch and hoped for better pitches in the future. The umpires ended the match an hour earlier than the scheduled end because both captains unanimously decided that the match will not come to any conclusion. The match allowed the batsmen to improve on their test statistics as five three figure innings were played. A total of 1478 runs were scored with only 17 wickets going down in five days.
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara and Indian master blaster Sachin Tendulkar scored double centuries in the same match. India scored 707 runs in the first innings and fell short of 19 runs to make their best ever test total. The previous best for India came against the same opponent when they scored 726-9 dec at a dead http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 pitch in 2009.
However, it may be just a ploy as the pitch favoured http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 to maintain their 1-0 lead in this series. For India, it was a disaster, since there was no way that the match would have ended with a result. It was predictable after the end of Day 1 as all bowlers were seen struggling to get anything out from the pitch. Indian captain M.S. Dhoni very rightly showed his frustration on the playing conditions when he said, “If there is nothing for fast bowlers in a wicket, it should at least help the spinners,” said Dhoni. “This one was just for batsmen, while the bowlers got spanked all around the park. I am glad we took the lead because when the opposition bats first and puts up more than 600 runs on the board, there is always pressure on the team batting second. But we played well and built partnerships, so there are a lot of positives to take away from the Test.”
Sri Lankan captain and coach have also shown their disappointment regarding the pitch conditions in the country. Kumar admitted that it was really hard for the bowlers to pick up any wickets on a dead SSC pitch. Sri Lankan coach Trevor Bayliss said, “We need pitches which are good for batting and have something for the bowlers too.”
M.S. Dhoni said that he is proud of his inexperienced bowling attack which has worked hard in the last test match. He added that his bowlers remained fit which was a good sign for the team. India’s bowling attack entered this series with its prime bowlers all sitting on the bench due to injuries. Young http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ishant-Sharma-c64566, who could hardly justify his selection in a test match, was leading the Indian bowling attack. "I am happy with the kind of effort they [Ishant Sharma and Abhimanyu Mithun] are putting in to their bowling," Dhoni said. "In the last two Tests, we have bowled first, and there was nothing in it for them.
What India lacked was wickets from their spin department. If Sri Lanka had any success with the ball, it was because of their quality spin bowling. Mendis was making a comeback into the Sri Lankan squad who picked up 4 crucial wickets in the first test match. Part-time bowler Dilshan also managed to bag 3 wickets which helped Sri Lanka win the first test match. India was playing its best spinner in the shape of Harbhajan Singh in this match who failed to impress anyone. Harbhajan only managed to pick one wicket in each innings, which is a poor performance for a bowler of his calibre. Indian captain M.S Dhoni however felt otherwise. He opined that Singh was bowling under difficult conditions. "If you are doing that on the first two days with nothing in the wicket, with no marks, it doesn't really bother. In the second game here he looked very impressive, getting bounce. If conditions are slightly in his favour he can do wonders for the team.” He said.
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