When predictions go wrong

Amrit Mathur, in the Hindustan Times, criticises those who write off cricketers only to be proved wrong soon enough.

When we know cricket is fundamentally uncertain, like the weather, why do people still put their front foot out and make bold predictions?

So called experts freely express an opinion, only for cricket to bite back and prove them horribly wrong. If sport teaches humility and modesty, because a slump inevitably accompanies success, cricket is a crash course in keeping one’s mouth shut. Not many, though, show restraint, and the temptation to swing their bat or shoot in the dark is too strong to resist.

He picks out Geoff Boycott for special mention.

After the dismissal in the previous Test (caught at square-leg, fetching a short ball from outside off ) Geoff Boycott said Sehwag was a talented but brainless cricketer. Now, after Galle, this distasteful remark only establishes that the England opener has no connect with intelligence or decency.

The Indian Express's Sandeep Dwivedi writes about Harbhajan Singh's comeback, which was capped by his ten-wicket haul in Galle.

Anand Vasu, in the Hindustan Times, analyses the lack of depth in Sri Lanka's pace department.