Lankan tigers maul Indians, record book

Mahanama did not have much to prove today. As he said: “My innings answered the critics. It showed that I have the fitness and run-making ability to hold my place in the team”.

Jayasuriya’s brief tenure saw him pass two milestones. He became the highest scorer in Tests against India when his second boundary took him past Graham Gooch’s 333 at Lord’s in 1990 and with his third four of the day posted the best by an Asian, surpassing Hanif Mohammed’s 337 against the West Indies at Bridgetown in 1957-58.

Ranatunga went after the bowling, his innovative genius picking the gaps at will. He hammered Abey Kuruvilla for four boundaries in an over the last of which was a swat from outside the off stump to midwicket with a roll of the wrists!

He was particularly severe on off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan, who came in for the biggest mauling. “I have twice bowled over 90 overs in first class cricket but never have I conceded over 200 runs. It’s a miserable feeling. It’s the worst possible comeback I could have imagined,” he said in a chat with this reporter.

Aravinda joined the run-feast as the Indian bowling touched a nadir. Aravinda has been in great form in the Test matches this year. He scored 168, 138 not out, 103 not out in the two Tests against Pakistan and followed it up with 0, 47, 35 and 76 against the West Indies, before scoring his 12th hundred today in 62 Tests.

The disappointments of the Asia Cup and the frustrations of waiting two days in the pavilion with pads on made him really determined. And it was the kind of wicket which was tailor-made for his favourite strokes the cut and the pull. The occasion was perfect and Aravinda was in no mood to let go.

The Aravinda-Ranatunga stand was worth 175 (in 212 balls) when a mix-up between the two found substitute Ajay Jadeja too quick for the Lankan skipper. Ranatunga missed a hundred which was there for the asking. However, he completed 4000 runs in Test cricket with his 67th run.

Jayawardena walked in to a rousing reception and showed no signs of nerves for a debutant. There was a delightful maturity in him for a lad who is just 20. He treated the bowlers on their lack of merit rather than their past reputation. Just when he was looking good to join his compatriots Brendon Kuruppu and Romesh Kaluwitharana in the list of century makers on debut, he lashed at Saurav Ganguly and fell to a brilliant catch by Nilesh Kulkarni at mid-off. His partnership with Aravinda produced 131 in 133 minutes.

It was obvious that the Lankans were chasing one record after another. Ranatunga’s logic was simple: He felt that Sri Lanka had to win Tests or make big records to gain attention. The second alternative was the best available on this wicket.

Aravinda, in fact, gave clear indication that the Lankans were eyeing a four-figure mark a feat, if achieved, would have been difficult to display on the scoreboard, which was not designed for such excellence.

The Lankan total surpassed the previous high of 903 for seven declared by England against Australia at The Oval in 1938 a match made famous by Len Hutton’s 364. The Lankan total, in fact, is the third-best of all time in first-class cricket.

Under the circumstances, one was not surprised to find Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar wondering if their is a future for Test matches if played on similar wickets.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA (1st innings): 537 for 8 decl

SRI LANKA (1st innings): (overnight 587 for one) Sanat Jayasuriya c Ganguly b Chauhan 340 (799m, 578b, 36×4, 2×6), Maravan Atapattu c Mongia b Kulkarni 26 (42m, 31b, 5×4), Roshan Mahanama lbw Kumble 225 (753m, 561b, 28×4), Aravinda de Silva c Prasad b Ganguly 126 (293m, 211b, 16×4), Arjuna Ranatunga run out (Jadeja/Mongia) 86 (150m, 110b, 14×4), Mahela Jayawardena c Kulkarni b Ganguly 66 (133m, 105b, 10×4), Romesh Kaluwitharana not out 14 (42m, 27b, 1×4), Chaminda Vaas not out 11 (36m, 24b), Extras: (b-27, lb-10, nb-14, w-7) 58; Total: (for six wkts decl, in 271 overs and 1126m) 952

Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Atapattu), 2-615 (Mahanama), 3-615 (Jayasuriya), 4-790 (Ranatunga), 5-921 (Jayawardena), 6-924 (Aravinda)

Bowling: Prasad 24-1-88-0, Kuruvilla 14-2-74-0, Chauhan 78-8-276-1, Kumble 72-7-223-1, Kulkarni 70-12-195-1, Ganguly 9-0-53-2, Tendulkar 2-1-2-0, Dravid 2-0-4-0

Man of the Match: Sanat Jayasuriya

Result: Match drawn