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India handled pressure situations better
By Ranil Abeynayake
The advantage swung from side to side during day one, two and three of the New Delhi test match. Both India and Sri Lanka had their chances to get a hold on the game, which, finally, went in favour of the home team.

Sri Lanka’s biggest opportunity of getting on top in the game came on day one when Ganguly ran down the pitch and missed a delivery from Muralitharan. In a rare blemish Kumar Sangakkara missed the simplest of stumpings. India had just gone past the three figure mark and that moment somehow Sri Lanka loosened the stranglehold. The Indians did not lose a wicket that day. Tendulkar who struggled earlier now had an ally in Ganguly and the pair remained unseparated.

It was a different story on the second morning. With the start being at 9.15 in the morning there was enough dampness for both swing and pace. A real blessing for Sri Lanka and they did capitalize. Clearly, it was the best spell for the visitors in the game.

The manner in which the pitch played indicated that it was a challenging pitch to bat on. The initial half hour was of such importance. To survive that period and build confidence was essential to build an innings. Then once the hard work was done it became necessary never to drop the guard. A delivery could misbehave at any time.

It was hard to assess the nature of the pitch which played at its best after lunch on day three and throughout day four. On the final day, Sri Lanka went to bat with half its side dismissed. It was difficult to assess the pitch, as a result. It got slower as the game wore on but not too slow to be unbattable.
Muralitharan’s bowling heroics could not be capitalized by the batsmen.

kipper Marvan Atapattu opened the innings and opened another chapter in his batting career. Unfortunately for him and the team he was dismissed in the final over of day two. It was a most crucial blow, dealt by Anil Kumble. Atapattu on 88 was well set and Sri Lanka needed him the following day to continue and help the team to secure a first innings lead.

Similar fate befell Mahela Jayawardena. He played all the Indian bowlers with confidence. A momentary loss in concentration made him attempt to sweep the ever-persevering leg-spinner – Kumble. It was to be his downfall. There was no fight from the lower middle order and the tail. So Sri Lanka conceded a 60 run lead. That was huge considering the manner in which the pitch was playing.

India changed tactics and opened with Irfan Pathan. Sri Lanka also changed tactics and opened the bowling with Muttiah Muralitharan. However, the wrecker of the Indian first innings did not look the same. Had his body recovered from the punishing 39.2 overs bowled then? It was after a very long time that he had done it and he didn’t seem to have got rid of the soreness in muscle and bone. He could not provide the penetration. All the other bowlers tried hard but without Muralitharan striking there was no way of restricting the Indians.

The target of 436 to win was a very tall order. The task of batting the remaining 141 overs in the match was also a tall order but more achievable. With the end of day four looming at 90 for 1 wicket the Lankans had got to a creditable start and had they got around 130 at the end without losing a wicket, day five would have been a classic. Sangakkara who had batted well upto then flashed at Agarkar, nicked it and it all went horribly wrong. Half the side was out for 125 by close of play and India had got hold of the game by the scruff of its neck.

On each day of the test the Indian players secured the upper hand when it came to a tight corner. They handled the pressure situation better and the Sri Lankans caved in and those small victories finally added up to secure the end result – a big win!

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