Indians will have to do a lot of thinking

Expectations and hopes were high just before the first Test match at Galle between India and Sri Lanka. The home team had set the ball rolling with a comprehensive win over India in the final of the ODI series for the Coca-Cola Cup. India were clearly weaker with the absence of the injured players Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Ashish Nehra. It is never easy to replace players of such class as Tendulkar and Laxman but it provided an opportunity for the youngsters to justify their inclusion.

I felt that Sanath Jayasuriya almost committed hara-kiri by sending India to bat first at Galle. It was a bad decision by which he almost threw away the early advantage. No team will want to put the other side to bat first even when the series is new or left wide open. The mighty West Indies team of the mid-seventies and eighties with all their fearsome fast bowlers would have thought twice before taking such a decision. The Sri Lankan captain must have taken the gamble of bowling first at a batting line up weakened by the absence of Tendulkar and Laxman.

The Indians squandered the golden opportunity of putting up a big total on the scoreboard. The opening pair applied themselves and gave a good start but the rest of the Indian batting was an apology. After being bowled out for 187 in the first innings, the only hope the Indians had was the bowlers to do something extraordinary to restrict the Sri Lankans to a score of just about 200. However positive the game plan and strategy of the Indian team were, the execution of it left a lot to be desired. The Indians kept bowling on either side of the wicket giving far too many runs away.

The wicket was ideally suited to Harbhajan Singh's off spin but his line of attack was a big let down. He was resorting to the One-Day type of bowling and was made to pay for it. It was a huge disappointment that he did not give the ball enough flight to make the batsman drive at the ball.

Nothing can be taken away from the Sri Lankans. They outplayed India in all departments, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara played positive and attacking cricket to demoralise the bowlers; the number of boundaries hit in the innings says the whole story. The Sri Lankan fast bowlers exposed the chinks in the Indian batting Armour. SS Das, Sadagoppan Ramesh and Mohd Kaif showed that they have talent to prove if the selectors keep trust in them.

Off spin is something close to my heart and I need to talk about the two off spinners who played at Galle. Muttiah Muralitharan brims with confidence and the faith in his ability to get the ball to turn sharply was the focal point. I have deep respect for the workhorse who keeps wheeling his arm over and give the ball a big tweak. It is indeed a spectacle to see the batsmen battle it out against the guiles of Muralitharan. His choice of flight and line to attack was a frustrating affair for the Indian batsmen and a spectacle of the highest order.

When Muralitharan made good use of his skills, Harbhajan looked pale in comparison, as he was more predictable of the two. The young Indian spinner's inexperience was there to be seen as he got carried away with the role of restrictive bowler that he did with aplomb in the ODIs to the Test match. It will be in the best interest of the Indian team if both Harbhajan and the Indian think tank realize the value of attacking cricket.