Round the wicket works for Murali
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
AFP
Sandeep Dwivedi of the Indian Express analyses Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling in the first Test against India, and finds that most of his wickets came while bowling round the wicket. While Ajantha Mendis may have a bagful of tricks, Muralitharan too has managed to reinvent himself.
Sri Lanka A team coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, who was Murali’s first captain at the Tamil Union cricket club way back in the early 90s and a close friend till date, was instrumental in the bowler frequently changing his run-up route from the conservative ‘over the wicket’ a few years back. And with the referral system coming into play, the coach is delighted that the new path will get Murali more dividends
In the Hindustan Times, Anil Kumble reiterates that India weren't solely focussing on Mendis, and says the team needs to bounce back after a poor game. He doesn't blame the loss on lack of preparation:
People were raising questions about us not playing more warm-up matches before the Test series and our preparation but that was not the problem. What is crucial is attitude and character and we didn't show that in this Test match. We will come out strong, it's not as though all has been lost.
Mathew Varghese is sub-editor (stats) at Cricinfo