Eleventh ODI: India vs. SL at Hobart

February 26th, 2008 | by Ravi

India are in the finals and while it’s a reason to

applaud Dhoni’s young men, it still is a concern at

how the Sri Lankans have declined since the 2003 World

Cup. It’s just not the present series, even at home

Lankans had lately appeared vulnerable.

I belong to an era when Sri Lanka’s batsmen used to

put fear in the opposition ranks. Duleep Mendis, Roy

Dais, Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Ranjan

Madugalle, to name just a few, were as classical as

daring. No new name has lately come up and its’

probably appearing too much of a burden for the

strained and weary shoulders of Sanath Jayasuriya.

Today they didn’t know what to do with a pitch that had a little bit of moisture.

They got off to a brilliant start and then as the ball

got older and stopped coming on to the bat, they

didn’t try to adjust their approach. Pulls were still

essayed; mistimed catches kept going in the air and

still no lessons were learnt. Losing six wickets for

just 21 runs and it doesn’t get any worse than that.

From Sangakkara onwards, batsmen attempted to force

the pace when partnerships were the order of the day.

The irony is, Indians for the most part appeared to

lack energy on the field. Bowlers, especially Munaf

Patel, were just trundling in and there wasn’t any

fierce attempt to cut off boundaries. It came too easy

for the Indians in the field though that’s not to take

away credit from Ishant Sharma or Parveen Kumar,

especially latter who seized his opportunity with both

hands. You also just can’t forget Irfan Pathan who is

one of the craftiest in the business. New ball or old

ball; lower down or up the order, the Baroda youngster

has returned a better cricketer than his first stint.

And then it was Tendulkar. Once the great man puts his

mind to any task, he invariably comes up trumps. He was back to his uptright self and

never went for a stroke till he was absolutely sure of

it and his presence at the other end had a calming

influence on Gautam Gambhir. I liked the way Delhi

youngster batted today. He cut out on those little

dabs towards the third man and largely looked to play

in the V. It must have been a good apprenticeship for

Gambhir to have batted in the presence of the great

master. What was good to see is that he didn’t waste good form.

All over, Lankans made it a bad day for themselves in

the way they fielded in the afternoon. Two chances in

the slips should have been availed and they probably

gave it up too early. All in all it’s been a few

forgettable weeks for the Sri Lankans in Australia.

India will have a few days of rest to freshen up their

limbs and mind. They already have done enough to

enlist support back home but it could turn to frenzy

if they were to turn tables on Australia in the

finals. It’s not beyond them and Ricky Ponting’s men

are acutely aware of it.

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