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India v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Ahmedabad, 3rd day
Muddled thinking costs India
India lacked clarity in their thought process, and the Jayawardenes - Mahela and Prasanna - took full toll
Cricinfo staff
November 18, 2009
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Matches:
India v Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad
Series/Tournaments:
Sri Lanka tour of India
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The picture became pretty much clear in the first 10 overs of the day, when MS Dhoni got Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra into the act. The idea may have been good but not the execution: neither bowler hustled, challenged, teased or troubled the batsman, and the captain didn't back them with attacking fields. The only beneficiaries were the Sri Lankans, who built on the momentum established on the second day by Tillakaratne Dilshan.
The spinners' reluctance to go for the kill only exposed India's plans to wait for the second new ball. This defensive move, in turn, laid bare India's muddled thought process: should they attack, should they defend? Answers were not forthcoming on the day because no one from the Indian team turned up at the media conference.
It wasn't just the spinners. Even when the second new ball was taken, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma failed to get optimum swing compared to their less experienced counterparts Chanaka Welegedara and Dammika Prasad. Though Zaheer remained the day's most consistent bowler, he failed to dominate the batsmen. He did rattle Thilan Samaraweera in the morning in a five-ball burst of probing fast bowling that eventually led to the batsman losing his composure, and his wicket, in the next over from Ishant, but he found it difficult to sustain that pressure for the rest of the day. And that proved costly for India.
More importantly, what was missing was the clarity in their thought process. It was hard to understand why Dhoni persisted with a deep point for Harbhajan who, whenever he strayed outside off, was cut fine or steered past the empty third man pocket. At the opposite end Amit Mishra tried hard to bowl into the rough to force the batsman to commit the error. But the Jayawardenes - Mahela and Prasanna - remained patient, having seemingly decoded Dhoni's plans. "They were trying to not give us a bigger lead," Jayawardene said.
The Lankans were only too happy to play the waiting job. "You can lose wickets in that manner if you played too many shots but it was important we didn't do that," Jayawardene said. "We waited for the loose ball and waited for the opportunity."
The effect was a calculated assault: pre-lunch they made 100 runs off 26.2 overs at a run-rate of 3.82, losing the only two wickets in the day; in the second session, the Jayawardenes scored 108 in 23.4 overs at 4.62; in the final session, when the Indians bowled consistently outside leg stump from round the wicket to staunch their progress, the Lankans still managed to keep the rate at a feasible three runs per over. "We were a bit too slow towards the end," Jayawardene conceded, "but the important thing was not to lose too many wickets … and if we have ample time we can build on the lead."
Another trick Dhoni missed was setting the daring 8-1 off-side field and giving his fast bowlers free rein, as he had done successfully in equally demanding circumstances in last year's Nagpur Test against Australia.
In that game, India looked set for a massive first-innings total but were undone by the unassuming Jason Krejza. In response Australia were hurtling towards the Indian score at more than four runs an over when Dhoni adopted the 8-1 field, raised eyebrows but turned the game in India's favour. Today it might have been the heat, or the placid nature of the pitch, or even his exhausted fast bowlers, that prevented Dhoni from repeating that strategy.
If India were indeed trying to take wickets, though, why not suffocate the batsman first by setting a close ring of fielders? Blaming the slow pitch would be a lame excuse - with attacking lines and consistent lengths Sri Lanka might have had a stiffer task at hand instead of sitting pretty on a sizeable 165-run lead.
Jayawardene understood the overall strategy. "They had to be careful not to give us a bigger lead…you can attack and give away too many runs but at the same time create opportunities," he explained.
The match is still open, though. Jayawardene was confident about Sri Lanka's prospects of notching their maiden Test triumph on Indian soil if they stick to their plans, but wary of the possibilities. "Things can happen on a fourth- or fifth-day wicket. Teams under pressure can create opportunities as well. We are on top at the moment but if we suddenly lose wickets it could be a different ball game."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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In India, no one can say senior players what to do in any situation. That is the reason Veeru Sehwag always throws his wicket saying I am playing my natural game. Well, Sehwag, You cannot play every ball in every over in Tests. Well, you can play, but cannot hit the ball like you are playing Twenty20. And at this situation, every one should think about staying on the ground and play like Sri Lanka played. I don't know when this guy will be got this simple sense. Yeah, Veeru Sehwag is a nonsense. If India are on strong position like Sri Lanka is in this test, he can play whatever he wants. I don't know when India will get a captain like Kapil Dev? I really missed Kapil Dev at this moment, not as a bowller, but as a captain who used to say anything to any player when someone did something like Sehwag. Everybody remembers his famous 175* innings vs. Zimbabwe in 1983 world cup match. S. Kirmani was on the crease with him, and was giving him very good support, not going for "HERO GIRI" .
Posted by ITJOBSUCKS on (November 19 2009, 12:39 PM GMT)I completly agree with rocket123. Look at Mahela's record outside sub-continent. His TEST record in AUS (34 avg), SA (31 avg), Eng (42 avg) and even in NZ (27 avg) , WI (42 avg) and Ban (38 avg) is very very POOR infact pathetic to say the least. Simply scoring runs in SL (66avg) or Sub-Continent doesn't make him the Great. Let him score Runs in all conditions, then one agree or say He is great, until he remains a very good Test player. I don't know why MOST of the SL's are having a go at rocket123. What he said is absolutely right. People say "TRUTH IS ALWAYS BITTER". Mahel is really a "FLAT TRACK BULLY" unless he does well in AUS,SA,NZ.
Posted by adarsh89 on (November 19 2009, 11:53 AM GMT)@xgame You seem to imply that India's position as of today is not because of Dhoni's captaincy alone. You are right, cricket is a team game. This is what people like me have been trying to say for two years. The recent success of Indian team is not to be attributed t Dhoni. Dhoni is just an ordinary captain, more so in tests. His share of luck is past its expiry date now.
Posted by binuopin on (November 19 2009, 09:53 AM GMT)We have been debating this captaincy issue since the time i started following the game many years ago. Can we just understand that a captain is no better than the team he gets and, the form his players are in. There's no point in saying this and that about captains... sometimes, field sets are irrelevant when batsmen in form are playing. Be it the least powerful team or otherwise. Lets also understand, even if a team plays consistently well, it is still the form and luck of the day that matters and not anything else. Remember, we've had situations when a team as mighty as india couldnt get to 120 in WI a while ago. A captain cannot generate results irrespective of his team. Plus, this is a belter of a wicket.
Posted by Hareesh72 on (November 19 2009, 09:20 AM GMT)is there anyone to give a tight slap to this Sehwag for such an irresponsible batting? In such a beautiful batting wicket he just throws his wicket away, in the name of Natural Aggression, bullshit! instead of batting according to the situation, see how he gets himself out. As always, the responsibility to save the match has come back to Dravid again. I feel Sehwag should be removed from the Indian Team now
Posted by dravidisgreat on (November 19 2009, 07:17 AM GMT)srisanth should certainly be the indian test team .he has more pace than any other indian bowler right now. moreover he tries a lot of things and such players are very useful in situations like these.........
Posted by Jaggadaaku on (November 19 2009, 07:06 AM GMT)Look POPCORN, Remember, when Australians bowled underarm during the 3rd match of Best 3 finals, and when Dennis Leelie brought metal bat and played some shots, and when Monkey edged to wicketkeeper and got clean caught behind during the test match against India and even Umpire Bucknor(another monkey) did not raise his finger. Simon Katich or anybody did not "DISGUSTEDLY" ask about it to the reporters. And nobody suspended or banned anybody. So, please my idiot friend think every thing before give your idiotic comment about suspending any player. Australians should see their past before comment on any other matter. If Australians think they can do anything at the ground, everyone, mark my word, every one including Zimbabwe and Bangladesh too have a right to do anything. But rest of the teams are not like Australians. There are so many things about Katich and his team, but the bottom line is Katich cannot ask about the fielding that day to reporters, and you must not saying disgusting.
Posted by Sorcerer on (November 19 2009, 07:05 AM GMT)Tendency of Indian skippers to go on the defensive at times when attacking play beckons is quite amusing. I remember how Ganguly went into the shell and was setting defensive fields even when India had racked up a score of 700+ in Australia!
Posted by Rasheedh on (November 19 2009, 07:05 AM GMT)DHONI has been riding on LUCK and nothing else, he is not competent to be a captain. Dhoni cant plan, strategise and does not have a deep understanding of the game.He belongs to the 20-20 era and test cricket is unknown turf for him. To be a Test Caption you need Brains not a Bragging gab.
Posted by Shafi79 on (November 19 2009, 06:29 AM GMT)I don't know why some people still seem to disrespect Mahela! A wonderful player who really has done justice to his potential since that tour of england where he took over as captain, SL sucsess in test cricket in recent times is as much due to Mahela & Sanga as it is due to Murali. Anyways it seems that Indian greats are considered demi gods and hence comparing our players to them is considered blasphemy!!! Well thats cool cause i wont compare Mahela to them, let me just say right now i rate him right next to the other Sri Lankan great Aravinda!!!