Herath, Malinga help SL post 520/8 with 115-run partnership for 8th wkt after initial inroads by Indian bowlers on Day 3; Sehwag going strong on 85 but India totter at 140/3.
After the washout on Day 2, the Day 3 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka here was quite eventful. From drama to action, it had all the ingredients of a perfect Test match. The day began with India’s unexpected dominance with the ball followed by gutsy batting by Sri Lanka’s tail. The day ended with India’s struggle with the bat.
Tail-enders Rangana Herath (80 not out) and Lasith Malinga (64) emerged Lanka’s surprise batting heroes of the day as the home side put on a healthy first innings total of 520 for 8 declared, thereby taking the psychological advantage over India, who were tottering at 140 for 3 at stumps. They trail Lanka by 380 runs.
The visitors started their innings on a disappointing note as Gautam Gambhir threw his wicket away playing Lasith Malinga across off the second ball of the innings. Sehwag, on the other hand, was cautious in his stroke-making and played every ball on merit. He cut and drove with elan.
With Rahul Dravid around, the Indians looked confident to get over the big jolt. The No.3 batsman looked confident from the first ball he faced. He middled the ball well and beautifully square-cut Welegedara for a boundary. But destiny had other plans for him.
Dravid, wanting a second run off Sehwag’s straight drive, failed to regain his crease in time. He added 66 runs for the second wicket.
Sachin Tendulkar came next but failed to stay too long in the middle. He was sent back by Muralitharan who claimed his 793rd victim. Tendulkar failed to connect a sweep shot and the ball hit him plumb in front of the wicket.
Sehwag, on the other hand, continued his counter-attack. Mind you it was the same ground where the Delhi dasher single-handedly guided India to victory 2008 with a double hundred. Very uncharacteristically, Sehwag ducked the bouncers, respected the good deliveries, perfectly judged Malinga’s yorkers apart from thrashing anything outside the off stump. Left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedera was at the receiving of Sehwag’s fury. The Delhi star kept the scoreboard ticking while VVS Laxman, who came in after Tendulkar’s dismissal, played a perfect second fiddle to him.
Earlier in the day, Ishant Sharma bowled his heart out. Fresh from Monday’s break, the youngster used the overcast conditions well and managed to extract reverse swing. In the process, he sent back centurion Tharanga Paranavitana for 111 with a beautiful out-going delivery.
With the second new ball, Ishant looked more dangerous. He troubled a technically-perfect batsman like Mahela Jaywardene by beating his bat quite a few times before finally dismissing him. It was a true battle of class between the ball and bat in which the bowler had the last laugh.
Abhimanyu Mithun continued his first day’s form and kept the batsmen guessing by mixing his deliveries. It paid him rich dividends as he sent back Thilan Samaraweera with an inswinging delivery.
Angelo Mathews played some smart shots before he was undone by a great catch from Laxman at gully. The bowler was Ishant. That was the end of Indian’s domination with the ball. The Lankan tail-enders then took charge of the game and sent the visitors on a leather hunt. Herath and Malinga added 107 runs to the Lankan total and that enterprising eighth wicket partnership was mainly responsible for Sri Lanka going past 500.
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