India entangled
Supple wrists lost out to nimble fingers as Sri Lanka recorded their biggest win at home
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
Supple wrists lost out to nimble fingers as Sri Lanka recorded their biggest win at home. In the Indian Express, Sandeep Dwivedi takes VVS Laxman as a case study on how the egos of several Indian batsmen went for a toss after facing Ajantha Mendis and Murali at the SSC.
In an instance, Laxman’s languid strokeplay was forgotten as he was made to look ugly. After beating Laxman repeatedly outside the off-stump with the away-going ball, Mendis bowled a loopy googly. As the ball sailed between the bat and pad of the confident-looking batsman, there was a new debate about the ‘ball of the match.’ The house was divided over which one was better: the leg-spinner that did Rahul Dravid in on Friday or the one that castled Laxman.
The new umpire review system could even things out between bat and ball and importantly, bring down batsmen's avarages. Read more in Times of India.
Umpires who feel pressurized not to raise their fingers with notable batsmen at the crease and succumb to the stress of appeals by top-rung aggressive bowlers will find life easier. There could, however, be a flip side to the story. The review system might tempt on-field umpires to keep their fingers in their pockets. Because they will be aware that the fielding team has the technological option of getting to the truth by themselves.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo