We need to maximise our potential in all areas

After almost ten years it's good to be playing Test cricket in Sri Lanka. Over the years we have come here on many occasions to play one-day triseries and headed back home, but it has been a long time since we played Tests here and it’s a really nice feeling. At this time of the year in Sri Lanka the weather does pose a bit of a concern and there has been some rain around. What would be ideal is to have five clear days so we can get a rain-free, complete Test match and some good cricket.

I’m comfortable with the way our team has shaped up. The balance looks good and since most of us have played here we’re well aware of the kind of conditions to expect. Obviously, the heat and humidity mean that we have to prepare accordingly, especially when it comes to hydration. But we’re all experienced enough and preparations are already underway.

We had a good workout in the practice match, with all the bowlers putting in some good overs. When it comes to the batting you often can’t read too much into what happens in a practice match. I’m sure our batsmen will come good when it comes to the five-day game. It was important for the bowlers to hit their straps and this has happened. Zaheer Khan was coming back into international cricket after about seven months and I think he bowled exceptionally well.

When we last played Sri Lanka at home we won 2-0, winning in Delhi and Ahmedabad with the Chennai Test being washed out. The conditions here are similar in many ways and having won the last Test series we played against Sri Lanka the mood in the camp is upbeat. Over here it’s important to dominate Sri Lanka early on. We have to bat well in the first innings, put a big score on the board and put pressure on them. I know they have a good record at home, but we’re going into the Test looking at how to maximise our potential in terms of batting, bowling and fielding.

The referral system has also been talked about in detail over the last few days and I think it’s going to be a new thing for all involved — the players, the officials and those watching on TV in their homes.

It’s a first time for everyone and it will obviously be helpful for the umpires. We’re only looking at the positive things. It’s meant for the obvious errors that sometimes happen.

There are times when they may not pick up a certain edge and the ball hits pad and you are given out lbw. Those kind of referrals may matter and might change the course of the game as well. At the same time I don’t think it’s correct to say this will reduce the authority of on-field umpires. We need to change with the times as with everything else. The technology is there and we’re only using the technology that we feel confident with. The traditions of the game are important and we all respect that. But it’s also a fact that millions are watching on television. In tennis line decisions are accepted now. In cricket we have already accepted the third umpire ruling on run outs and stumpings. Umpires are an integral part of the system and this is not taking something away from them, it’s only a mode of assistance.

Colombo Test: Lanka beat India

Sri Lankan team celebrate after beating India by an innings and 238 runs in the first Test in Colombo.

Bleak Friday

If Thursday was forgettable, Friday was a black day for India's cricketers. After allowing Sri Lanka to motor from their overnight 422 to a more-than-healthy 600 for 6 declared, on the back of Tillakaratne Dilshan's fifth Test century, India's batsmen proved it was possible to collapse on any kind of pitch. A series of injudicious shots left India tottering at 159 for 6. With the tail exposed and two full days to go, the Test seems ripe for Sri Lanka's picking, should rain stay away.

The Sinhalese Sports Club has one of the largest manual scoreboards you are likely to see at a cricket ground and when India's turn at bat came, the 600 runs on the board cast a dark shadow over the much-vaunted batting line-up. But Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag began as though they were still opening for the Delhi IPL team, scoring at more than seven an over, getting 36 in five overs.

Sehwag then decided to fetch a short ball from well outside the off stump and pull it for six but only holed out to Malinda Warnapura. With Sehwag gone, Gambhir combined with a circumspect Rahul Dravid and pushed the score on to 79. Gambhir looked good at the crease, not being fussed by the introduction of Ajantha Mendis in the 11th over and putting away two full tosses that came his way.

Perhaps the energy he invested in preserving his wicket against Mendis caused him to relax against old fox Muttiah Muralitharan. Gambhir (39) tried to turn a loopy delivery to the on side, closed the face of the bat early and ballooned a catch to Thilan Samaraweera at short cover.

Dravid, who had been at the non-striker's end for Mendis's first few overs, played inside a ball that left him a shade on pitching and lost his off stump. He walked back to the pavilion mimicking with his hand the kind of delivery Mendis had sent down. Sachin Tendulkar appeared determined to master both the spinners. He came down the pitch and hit Murali through mid-off and slog-swept Mendis for a forceful boundary through midwicket. But it was Murali who had the last laugh when Tendulkar, shaping to withdraw from a defensive shot but inside edged back onto the stumps. At 123 for 4 and with no sign of rain, Sri Lanka's bowlers began to run amok. But they needn't have bothered, for they were about to receive more presents from India's batsmen.

Sourav Ganguly was going well, on 23, before playing a shot he will be kicking himself for. Taking on Murali, Ganguly swept hard and Nuwan Kulasekara, posted at deep backward square-leg, took a good catch. Dinesh Karthik had a golden chance to show some character after the top order had failed. With VVS Laxman at the other end, all Karthik needed to do was stay at the crease but adventurism got the better of him. Perhaps buoyed by a reverse-sweep off Murali that fetched him a boundary, Karthik attempted to hit the man with the most Test wickets out of a ground where he has more than 150 scalps. The ill-advised and worse executed heave to a doosra went straight up off the leading edge and Murali ran back towards mid-off to collect the catch.

At 147 for 6, the follow-on mark of 401 was a mountain-and-a-half away. Never, in their history, have Sri Lanka asked India to follow-on, but barring two days of non-stop rain, you can be sure they will be in a position to do so in this match. When bad light ended the day's play, India had moved to 159 for 6, still 242 away from avoiding the follow-on.

Sri Lanka demolish India, win by an innings and 239 runs

They smile with such innocence it’s hard to believe they’re capable of any kind of deception.

But the manner in which Muttiah Muralitharan, the mentor, and Ajantha Mendis, the rookie, made some of the best players of spin look foolish, was stunning.

The pair combined to make India’s misery complete, taking 19 of the 20 wickets on offer. India’s first innings effort, if you can call it that, was a capitulation.

The second innings was a surrender that will leave many in the team red-faced, for never before have India followed-on against Sri Lanka, and never have they lost as badly as this, by the small matter of an innings and 239 runs.

When the day began at 159 with four first-innings wickets left, the optimists hoped for a revival. Instead, they got an addition of only 74 to the total. VVS Laxman played a lone hand, defying Mendis and Murali for 56 till he failed to read a googly that broke back in enough to disturb the stumps. Dismissed for 223, India were still 377 adrift and following on.

Surely, a batting line up that included a top order with more than 40,000 Test runs could not collapse twice in succession? They did, and how! If the first innings was an exercise in how not to play quality spin on a true pitch, the second was a reminder that no cricketer is better than his performance on the day.

Records be damned and reputations set aside for a moment, India’s batsmen contrived to be dismissed in a variety of ways, collectively lasting a mere 45 overs.

Virender Sehwag, perhaps looking to make up for his injudicious shot in the first innings, left a doosra from Murali alone, with the ball pitching on the stumps and deviating slightly.

Mark Benson was reluctant to give the decision himself but once the matter was referred to Rudi Koertzen, Sehwag was sent on his way.

Laxman came out at No. 3 and once again brought some semblance of respectability to the proceedings. Mendis showed he had a smart cricket brain to go with extravagant talent, producing another fine googly to trap Laxman. This delivery was faster and flatter and consequently turned less but that was just what was needed to secure the lbw.

Sachin Tendulkar again found a freakish way to get out, attempting to paddle Murali, only to see the ball strike his pad, ricochet off the bat and balloon up on the leg side. Tillakaratne Dilshan anticipated brilliantly at leg slip and plucked a stunning catch.

Gautam Gambhir, who negotiated the spinners through a combination of watchful strokeplay and nimble footwork, was beaten by Murali’s flight and turn. He was stumped for 43.

Sourav Ganguly did not last long, offering an apologetic poke to a sharp offbreak from Murali, only to see Dilshan take his second special catch of the day — this time at second slip.

Rahul Dravid did marginally better, reaching 10, but was scalped by Mendis for the second time.

This time around it was the googly that did the trick, drawing the inside edge onto pad for Malinda Warnapura to catch at short-leg. Once again, the Sri Lankans got it right, calling for the review when Billy Doctrove was unsure if the bat made contact with the ball, and India were speeding towards defeat at 103 for 6.

Dinesh Karthik’s misery continued when he was snapped up for a duck, stabbing a Murali doosra to slip, handing the Kandy magician his 65th Test five-wicket haul. The tail did not hang around, and when Harbhajan failed to pick a Mendis googly and was bowled, the painful Indian innings ended on 138, their lowest ever score against Sri Lanka.

India had lasted just over three hours and nothing in the world could have wiped the smiles off the faces of Murali (6 for 26) and Mendis (4 for 68).

India have bounced back from being 0-1 down in the past but Sri Lanka are not a team that will squander an advantage easily.

India will have to work doubly hard for every run, probe more persistently for each wicket, and above all, find a way to score off Mendis and Murali to stem the rot and ensure that more horrors don’t beckon at Galle.

‘It was just another game for me’

Muttiah Muralitharan has achieved so much with the ball that it’s a bit hard to keep track of the numbers. Murali was Man of the Match for the 19th time in his career, and picked up his 64th and 65th five-wicket innings hauls and his 21st ten-for in a match. And this one, he said, was one of the best performances of a glittering career.

“When we played India last time at home (2001), Sachin and Laxman weren’t there. I got eight wickets in the first innings, we got 600 runs in the first innings then also and won by an innings,” Murali said, recalling the final Test of the last tour.

“But this one was different because two spinners bowling in tandem and getting 19 wickets between us. It was a satisfying moment for us because the wicket was very good. We got 600, our players played very well and they attacked properly. Anil and Harbhajan are dangerous spinners; we had our plans and played according to them. Once you have 600 runs, 400 is a lot to avoid the follow on.”

Murali had a pat on the back for Mendis, who returned the best bowling figures for a Sri Lankan debutant. “He is the most talented spinner I have bowled alongside. With us bowling together, the runs weren’t coming. The batsmen had do something to get the runs. They committed mistakes and that’s why we got wickets.” Murali, humble as ever, added, “When I started my career, I had just the off-spin, and I had bigger turn. He has more variations. That’s difficult for the batsmen. If he keeps his head calm and keeps performing, he will take a lot of wickets. He is not just an ordinary bowler, he is a wicket-taker. It will help the team win more matches, specially against Asian countries who play spin well.

“I want to play one-day cricket till the World Cup. Now that Ajantha has arrived, I think I can play Tests for a few more years. Bowling 50 overs in an innings is very hard. If I can bowl only 30-35 overs and he can bowl more than me, my job will become easier.”

Mendis, speaking through Mahela Jayawardene who translated from Sinhala, said, “It was obviously a fantastic moment for me. To bowl alongside Murali helped me a lot, specially to get advice from him along the way. The pressure Murali created gave me opportunities to pick up wickets. I am very happy with the start to my career”

Mendis, who said Rahul Dravid’s wicket was the one he cherished the most, said the presence of seniors helped him. “I had the seniors helping me, especially Murali bowling from the other end and the advice that he gave me. I didn’t feel any nerves because it was just another game for me.”

We played a good Test match: Mahela

India’s swift collapse left even Mahela Jayawardene a little surprised. India’s loss by an innings and 239 runs, their third heaviest of all time, was also Sri Lanka’s biggest win at home. “The first Test in a three-match series is an important one, and our main focus was on winning,” said Jayawardene. “The way they collapsed surprised me because when you see that batting line-up, you think these guys have a lot of experience and they will give you a fight. The way we managed to bowl them out in two sessions, it is surprising but credit should go to Murali and Ajantha.”

Looking back on what was a fantastic day, Jayawardene said, “It was important that we take those four wickets (in the Indian first innings) early. We didn’t want it to drag too long. Laxman batted well in the morning and we had to be patient. Once we forced the follow-on, we knew we had to be patient again because the wicket wasn’t doing much. We were a bit lucky with a couple of early wickets and after that, Murali bowled brilliantly and Ajantha kept up the pressure and picked up a few more wickets at the end. Overall, it was a brilliant effort. We played a really good Test match.”

Exceptional show from Murali and Mendis: Kumble

There are times when it helps to look back and analyse exactly what went wrong in a game. But in situations like this, where everything possible went wrong, it may be prudent to just consign the past to history and look forward.

Anil Kumble tried to do that, asserting that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the team.

“There is no need to look at a change in technique. No other line up is more technically equipped,” he said.

“They are players who have played for more than 15 years and have more than 100 Tests. You can’t get a more experienced line up than this. It is important for the bowlers to also put their hands up.”

At the same time Kumble conceded that his team had been comprehensively outplayed in all departments and that plenty of work awaited them.

“We need to work all three departments of the game,” said Kumble. “We dropped a few catches. Zaheer got a wicket off a no-ball. We had to bowl well and also ensure we held the chances that came our way.”

While India played well below par, Sri Lanka certainly did all they could to win, and Kumble did not shy from giving them credit.

“They bowled exceptionally well. It was never going to be easy after they had 600 on the board,” he said.

“Avoiding the follow-on was always going to be tough. The wicket was not really helping spin but once you bat like we did in the first innings, it was going to be tough. It was an exceptional bowling performance from Mendis and Murali.”

Kumble re-emphasised that it was Murali who posed the biggest threat, and not Mendis, despite his eight wickets.

“We did not concentrate only on Mendis. I did mention before the match that Murali and Vaas are the important bowlers and nothing has changed,” said Kumble.

“It was only that we are asked more about Mendis in media conferences. Probably the focus was on him but we always knew Murali and Vaas were the ones. Murali is a champion bowler.”

When asked what needed to be done ahead of the next Test, Kumble said that it was not as though the team did not have its plans in place for this Test, adding, “We have come back well in the past and it is the same them that has brought some wonderful results. I am confident we will come back.

“When things don’t go our way people think there is no plan in place.

“It is the same process. Obviously we need to look at our strategy in handling Murali and Mendis. We have to be a little more positive.”

India and Sri Lanka series

India and Sri Lanka series