Returning to test cricket after months of Twenty-20 and one day cricket is a difficult task. It is made all the more difficult when your opponents are neighbouring India, whose players are acclimatised to conditions similar to ours and when you have to bat first on a wicket that has been made damp by some heavy showers.

That was the challenge facing us on Wednesday when the first test began at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) grounds. There is always something in this wicket for the bowlers in the first hour or so and last Wednesday was no different. At first Michael and then Kumar were back in the pavilion with the score at a shaky 57 for two. Really, the game could have swung either way from there and that is why the performances of Malinda and Mahela are significant, perhaps more so than the amount of runs they scored.

While Mahela was his usual calm self and played a sterling captain’s knock, Malinda displayed great maturity for someone playing only his fifth test. The wicket may have eased out later, but those initial overs were a testing time and Malinda emerged unscathed. He was given the opportunity to show he was test match material against a classy opposition and he seems to have grabbed it with a lot of determination and skill.

Thilan and Dilshan also scored centuries in the run feast that followed, although under contrasting circumstances. Thilan came to the wicket with the score at 212 for 3. So the task was clear for him: accumulate as many runs as possible while Mahela kept his end up.Dilshan however was under some pressure. Before the game, the selectors had to choose between Chamara Silva and Dilshan and it would have been a difficult decision to keep Chamara out, especially after he had scored two fifties in the warm up game against the same bowling attack. Dilly did well under those trying circumstances to justify the faith the selectors had placed in him. I have played alongside him in many games but this is the first occasion where I saw him display so much patience and resolve to prove a point. It must have been difficult for him for he is a naturally aggressive player nevertheless, he prevailed to pile up the fourth century of the innings.

A score of 600 meant that India would have to score 400 just to avoid the follow-on. That type of platform is handy when we are targeting a test victory but the Indians would have known that there were no hidden terrors in the wicket and would have fancied their chances of putting in a solid batting performance.
That seemed a real possibility when they began their innings at a canter with Virender Shewag leading the way, scoring at around five to six runs an over. But test cricket is a five day game and no matter how easy the wicket plays, a couple of errors can turn a match.

That is what happened to Shewag when he misread Nuwan’s bouncer to spoon a catch to Malinda. Thereafter, the spinners took over and Murali, the old master was at it again, weaving his magic spell.
The wicket by now had begun to show some bounce and turn, but the fact that four centuries were scored on it just a few hours earlier is ample evidence of Murali’s mastery of his trade, even though a couple of rash shots may have helped.

There was quite a bit of pre-match attention on Ajantha Mendis and speculation about whether he could repeat his performance in the Asia Cup final where he bamboozled six Indians. Ajantha is very lucky because he has got the opportunity to bowl in tandem with the greatest spinner in the world. It will be a steep learning curve for him but I have no doubt the lad will learn well.

He bowled well today (Friday) and the ball that got the crucial wicket of Rahul Dravid-the ‘wall’, as they call him because of his ability to defend in desperate situations-was an absolute beauty. Although Dravid is undoubtedly one of the best exponents in the world in playing against spinners, he had absolutely no clue to this one which pitched on middle stump and then as the batsman prodded uncertainly, hit the off stump. Mendis would cherish not only his first test wicket but also the manner in which he out-thought a modern great with that ‘carrom ball’ of his. However, Murali has had the last laugh up until now, grabbing four of the six scalps to fall. It is a tribute to the man that after over a hundred tests and seven hundred wickets and having every conceivable record in the bag, he is still hungry for success.

His battle against Sachin Tendulkar was indeed a treat to watch and Murali has at the time of writing won round one. While these little battles make the game interesting, as I write this at the end of the third day, the match is far from over. Our plan would be to try to dismiss the Indians for as little as possible and then enforce the follow on but we respect the abilities of Laxman and Kumble to mount a rearguard.

If we can achieve that first target before lunch tomorrow, that would leave the Indians nearly two days to bat to save the test. In addition, with Murali and Mendis revelling in the conditions that would be a tough task, which, if it is achieved, would indeed deserve a draw. A draw is not on our minds at present. We are very focussed on our cricket because we know that to go one up in a three test series is to virtually ensure a series win. That, after all is our ultimate target; we have set the ideal stage for that and now it is a matter of executing the plan to perfection.