Noses in front, India must keep their heads

It was probably Muttiah Muralitharan’s self-belief after a seven-wicket haul that prompted him to suggest this match is evenly poised. ...

It was probably Muttiah Muralitharan’s self-belief after a seven-wicket haul that prompted him to suggest this match is evenly poised. The fact is that India have their noses ahead — if only just — after Day Two and a good first session tomorrow could put them in firm control.

With Sri Lanka 92 runs short of India’s target of 290, four wickets in hand, it may seem like a straight contest of second innings scores. But India get to bowl last on a wicket with wear and tear so the balance swings perceptibly towards the home team.

And if Murali and Kumble cancel each other out, as they did on an enthralling day’s play today, India hold the advantage in the support bowlers. Despite Malinga Bandara taking two wickets in the first innings, where Harbhajan went wicketless, there is no contest between the two when it comes to experience — or a pitch that will have more bite and spin over the next three days.

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Similarly, the pace war will see the two left-arm pacers Chaminda Vaas and Irfan Pathan cross swords to outdo each other in taking early wickets. Pathan’s 16-7-20-2 showed today he can be as dangerous as Vaas with the new ball. And his lively spell towards the end of the day’s play showed that he can keep the pressure while Kumble does the damage from the other end.

So far Ajit Agarkar, like Dilhara Fernando, hasn’t really made an impact and his performance from now will answer an important question: Wouldn’t Murali Kartik have been a greater help than Agarkar on this wicket?

But for India to control things they must ensure there is no repeat of this morning’s batting collapse, when India lost seven wickets for 36 runs.Overnight batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly were out to Murali’s straight one but the one that got Mahendra Singh Dhoni out was a dream ball. As the wicket-keeper tried to glide a leg-to-off turning Murali ball to the slips with a angled bat he lost his off-stump.

Such liberties against the master aren’t entertained. Caution has to be the key for the batsmen. As the match stands today the better the batsmen play the easier they will make it for their spinners.

SCOREBOARD

		• INDIA (1st Innings): G Gambhir lbw Vaas 2; R Dravid c Mubarak b Muralitharan 24; VVS Laxman c Sangakkara b Muralitharan 69; S Tendulkar lbw Muralitharan 109; S Ganguly lbw Muralitharan 40; Yuvraj Singh c Mubarak b Bandara 0; MS Dhoni b Muralitharan 5; I Pathan c Mubarak b Muralitharan 0; A Agarkar not out 14; A Kumble b Bandara 8; Harbhajan Singh b Muralitharan 7; Extras (b 4,lb 8): 12; Total (all out): 290. Fall of Wickets: 1-2, 2-56, 3-133, 4-254, 5-255, 6-255, 7-255, 8-260, 9-271. Bowling: Vaas 22-5-77-1, Fernando 18-5-43-0, Muralitharan 38.4-8-100-7, Bandara 17-1-54-2, Dilshan 1-0-4-0. • SRI LANKA (1st Innings): A Gunawardene lbw Pathan 25; M Atapattu c Gambhir b Kumble 88; K Sangakkara c Kumble b Pathan 3; M Jayawardene lbw Kumble 60; T Samaraweera b Kumble 1; T Dilshan lbw Kumble 0; Jehan Mubarak batting 10; Extras (b 4,lb 2,pen 5): 11; Total (for 6 wkts): 198 Fall of Wickets: 1-54, 2-62, 3-175, 4-179, 5-179, 6-198. Bowling: Pathan 16-7-20-2, Agarkar 16-4-40-0, Kumble 21.3-5-54-4, Harbhajan 15-0-67-0, Tendulkar 2-0-6-0.

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