India vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test: Team India shine bright in fading light

With India sniffing an improbable win, aggression and intensity rose considerably. Virat Kohli started ‘lip service’. Dickwella took his protest to the umpires. Then, he went across his stumps, clipped Shami over the backward square leg boundary and promptly signalled to the umpires that India had three fielders behind square on the leg side. He didn’t point it out before the ball was bowled and waited for the no-ball to be called. Kohli walked up to him, serving up a bit of ‘friendly’ banter.

Dickwella took his stance and as Shami began running in, he raised his hand and asked the fast bowler to wait. Shami couldn’t take this. He jogged down to the batsman to give him a piece of his mind. The two players came almost within touching distance and it felt like international cricket’s first red-card moment was just a step away. Dickwella was trying to get under the skin of his opponents. His time-wasting tactic was a deliberate ploy, and even KL Rahul said after the match that any team, battling to stay afloat, would have done that.

The light began to fade. India desperately tried to hurry things up. Sri Lanka vehemently stuck to playing for time. Leg before decisions were reviewed, with the hosts benefitting once and their opponents getting a favourable decision the other time. Kumar’s in-swinger clipped the inside edge of Dickwella’s bat and Wriddhiman Saha took the catch behind the stumps. But the umpires’ review saved the left-hander, as replays didn’t provide any conclusive evidence that the ball carried. Mohammed Shami’s bouncer hit Dasun Shanaka on the chest and the Sri Lanka physio ran in, along with three reserve players. Kohli became annoyed. Time was running out.

Strategy spot on
Unlike limited-overs cricket, the game’s purest format gives a captain many options to exercise as far as bowling is concerned. Kohli had Kumar, Shami and Yadav as his three fast bowlers, while R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja provided him with spin-bowling options on a fifth day pitch. The ball was still moving in the air and off the deck, but cracks had opened up a bit for the spinners to come into play as well. The India captain chose to ignore spin. Kumar was his No. 1 hit man assisted by Shami. Yadav was given five overs.

Kohli proved to be spot on. Kumar made the ball talk. He removed Sadeera Samarawickrama in the very fast over with a back-of-a-length delivery that took the inside edge and rattled the stumps. Then, the fast bowler went around the wicket, created an angle and made Lahiru Thirimanne poke at an away-goer, with Ajinkya Rahane taking the catch at gully. But, perhaps, Dickwella’s wicket was the most satisfying, because his fairly lengthy stay at the crease had been damaging India’s chances. An in-dipper that jagged back a long way did him in — out leg before on umpire’s call. Kumar followed it up with a peach to send Dilruwan Perera’s stump cartwheeling. He finished with 4/8 from 11 overs; a swing-bowling masterclass on this pitch. Eight wickets in the game brought him the Man of the Match award.

Shami was a little more expensive but his two wickets – Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal – were priceless in the context of the game. The late in-swinger to castle the Sri Lanka captain was hurled at 145kph. Yadav made one skid off the pitch and trapped Angelo Mathews plumb in front. Every fast bowler contributed and the format allowed Kohli to keep the opposition guessing with the use of his bowlers.

This Test match was dominated by Sri Lanka for most of its duration. India turned the game on its head in two sessions. Test cricket revelled in its unpredictability factor.

Earlier, resuming on 171 for one, India suffered a mini-collapse. Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Jadeja – promoted to No. 6 – fell in quick succession. Ashwin and Saha also didn’t offer much with the bat. But India had their skipper to fall back on. Kohli’s 104 not out off 119 balls was resplendent. It set the platform for the India pacers’ second innings charge, which invited drama, intrigue and debate. “It’s fantastic, isn’t it? It’s Test match cricket. It’s a tough environment, it’s a cauldron and that’s how players earn respect from each other,” Sri Lanka coach Nic Pothas said.

How Sri Lanka survived
Another four or five overs, and India might have pulled off a heist. Besides bad light, a few other things ate up time.

Kohli off strike: Bhuvneshwar Kumar came after Wriddhiman Saha’s dismissal and played seven consecutive dot balls. Then, Mohammed Shami also got stuck initially before hitting his first four after six balls. India had been playing for a declaration and those few deliveries might have delayed the call a little.

The Spat: As the last hour of play began and Shami started running in to bowl, Niroshan Dickwella stopped the fast bowler in his tracks, indicating that he wasn’t ready. After delivering the ball, Shami walked up to the batsman, ostensibly to give him a piece of his mind. Two balls later, Dickwella pulled away again and a fairly lengthy conversation ensued between him, Kohli and umpire Nigel Llong.

The reviews: Umesh Yadav got Angelo Mathews on review after the original decision was not out. Dilruwan Perera, given out, survived because of height. Dickwella’s inside edge off Kumar, the TV umpire found out, didn’t carry to Saha, although the soft signal was out. The stoppages meant precious time was lost.