Sri Lanka v India, 1st Test at Galle: An analysis
Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series by winning the Galle Test match against India. What went right for the Lankans and what went wrong for India?
The Toss:
For India to have any chance of winning a game in Sri Lanka, they need to bat first. The pitches in Sri Lanka make it difficult for the teams batting fourth and that is where the Indians floundered even more. They lost the toss and given the weak bowling attack, were sent on a leather hunt.
That is not to say that the toss was a very big factor in the game, given that the rain also played a role.
The Rain:
The whole of the second day was washed away due to the incessant rain and the resultant inclement weather. And yet, the Sri Lankan side were able to win the game. In fact, given India’s bowling, they would have been thankful for the second day’s play to be washed off, as that would have meant that the Indian batsmen had to last for only two and a quarter days. Rain could have easily played a good part in helping India draw the game, instead, Sri Lanka showed their complete domination by winning despite the rains.
Centurions rule the roost:
The game turned in Sri Lanka’s favour when they won the toss. It was taken completely away from India when the pair of Tharanga Paravitana and Kumar Sangakkara, both scored centuries to take the home team to 259/2 at the end of the first day’s play. With the bowling as weak as it was for the Indians, there was hardly any doubt that the Sri Lankan side would get to 500, which would go on to assume match-winning proportions.
Indian bowling caves in, as expected:
For a brief period on the third day, the Indian pace bowlers looked to have smelled blood. The tail of both, Ishant Sharma and Abhimanyu Mithun was up as they scalped three wickets in the first session to raise hopes of restricting the Sri Lankan side to less than 400.
But then, the unexpected occurred. Most of the Lankan top-order had fallen away, but it was the lower order duo of Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga – better known for their bowling – who came to the party with their batting. Both scored half centuries and got to Test-best scores, and the Indian spinners failed to pick up a single wicket in the innings. Sri Lanka got to 500 and the humiliation was complete.
Muralitharan gets five, and 800:
It was meant to be Muthiah Muralitharan’s Test match and it went to the script. Murali scalped five wickets in the first innings to get within three wickets of the 800-wicket mark. In the second innings he had his first two rather early, but took many overs before wrapping up the Indian innings with his 800th in Test matches. That was his last act in Test match cricket as a player, as he had already announced his retirement earlier.
Indian batting fails. Twice:
Their batting was their better suit, and yet, the Indian side lost their 20 wickets in a total of 180 overs – that is equivalent to two full days of cricket. Only Virender Sehwag and his century in the first innings and Sachin Tendulkar’s 85 in the second offered some form of resistance. VVS Laxman did score a 69, but his innings came a little too late to be of any assistance. What will be very worrying for India is that Gautam Gambhir fell in the first over of both the innings of the Test match.
Time to go back to the drawing boards, India
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