India up the tempo in Kanpur

First,let’s get the numbers out of the way. India’s 417 for two were the most runs scored by them in a single day of Test cricket. Virender Sehwag got 131,his 16th century and the first since 2003 that did not fetch him at least 150. Gautam Gambhir scored 167,which made him only the third Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid to slam hundreds in four consecutive Tests. And Dravid,fluent as ever,finished the day on 85 of the most beautiful runs you’ll ever get to see,despite the placid track and the low-pressure situation.

But the match started with Sehwag — sometimes impulsive and irresponsible,sometimes instinctive and indomitable — deciding to feed both his critics and his supporters in an innings that not only had his usual shades,but also a colour he’s never painted before.

In the first over,trying to hit Chanaka Welegedara out of the park,he got a thick edge that flew straight to first slip. A groan went up in the stands (the reckless,feckless opener had done it again) and the dropped catch induced a few involuntary shakes of the head. Such an incident is so common in a Sehwag innings that it usually has no effect on his approach or his demeanor. Today,somehow,it opened a hidden file in his batting database.

For the next 60 minutes,Sehwag was content with playing out maiden overs,with patting the ball to the fielders,with allowing his partner to hog the strike and outscore him four-to-one. At the end of 11 overs,he was on six off 24 balls,and Gambhir was on 24 off 43. It was only in the 12th over,when the ball had lost its shine and the two Lankan pacemen were getting tired,that he launched into Angelo Mathews for two consecutive fours to announce the resumption of regular service.

Words of advice
After that the fours flowed more freely,a few sixes began to surface,and Sehwag caught up with Gambhir as the run-rate acquired one-day proportions. But the confirmation that Sehwag had indeed engineered a conscious reformation came in the 21st over,when he walked up to have a word with Gambhir after the left-hander had played a false shot against Muttiah Muralitharan. What did Sehwag tell him? Be careful? Don’t get reckless? “I told him to think big,to hang in there,and get another hundred.”

The pair raced each other to their fifties (Sehwag got there first with two fours while Gambhir was on 49) and then matched one another blow for blow until Gambhir gave up the chase,allowing his partner to break away. Sehwag’s second false shot of the day came only after his century,when he got an inside edge that just missed his stumps before racing away for four. He was finally dismissed while driving Murali uppishly to cover,where Tillakaratne Dilshan — broken nose and all — dived forward to catch the ball inches from the ground.

The opening stand had been worth 233,and though the dismissal may have given Sri Lanka some respite,it brought them no reprieve. Frustrated not just by the lifeless pitch but also by their own decision to play three spinners,the visiting side’s options were limited despite having an array of bowlers.

When a team decides to play a spin trio on a pitch that isn’t overtly conducive to turn,they are hoping to bat first and bowl last. Everything rides on the toss,and it was always going to be difficult for Sri Lanka once the coin fell MS Dhoni’s way. The opening spells of the Lankan spinners told the full story. Left-armer Rangana Herath bowled one over for 14 before he was quickly taken off the attack. Ajantha Mendis,no longer a mystery,bowled five overs for 42. And Murali,the only bowler skipper Kumar Sangakkara persisted with regardless of his ineffectiveness,had figures of 12-0-73-1 before he was given a break.

Murali later returned to dismiss Gambhir,diving full-length to his right to complete a desperate catch off his own bowling. In a day of unequal music,it was Sri Lanka’s only high note.