Matter of time after Sree’s five

By the time he blitzed past the bat,through the gate,and off the edge for 16 overs,to finish with figures of 22-4-75-5,Sri Lanka had been bowled out for 229,having conceded a first-innings lead of 413. Following on,they were 57 for four at stumps,gasping for breath as Sreesanth struck another early blow on a pitch that was getting more uneven in the final session.

On target

Both the Indian frontline seamers had been on target right from the start,but for the first half-hour,it seemed their efforts would prove futile,like in Ahmedabad where the Lankan batsman had been impossible to dismiss. In the day’s sixth over,the tide started to turn,not due to the pitch but because of how much Sreesanth was putting into each delivery.

Opener Tharanga Paranavitana — softened with a blow on the shoulder — was the first to go,poking at a ball that was leaving him. Sreesanth’s celebration was instinctive,but somewhat understated; this time,he didn’t show the opener where the dressing-room was.

Next ball,Mahela Jayawardene edged a perfectly shaped outswinger but the ball went between wicketkeeper MS Dhoni and first-slip Sachin Tendulkar,neither of whom moved until it was too late. Sreesanth covered his face,but for a little while less than usual,as if he was certain he could do it again.

Over the course of the next few overs,the appeals gained amplitude and frequency. But it was somehow the rare,innocuous deliveries that resulted in wickets. Kumar Sangakkara,having done all the hard work for his 44,drove hard at a widish ball and edged it on to his stumps. Fifteen minutes later,Thilan Samaraweera made the same mistake,slashing outside off only to hear the sound of breaking furniture. It wasn’t the shot to play at Nelson; cricket’s most famous superstition struck,making it 111 for four.

Mixing it up

Sreesanth is at his best when he lands the ball on the seam,with his wrist erect and his length fuller,allowing the ball to swing. On Thursday,he also varied his pace just a fraction,making the batsmen play early,or play late. He wasn’t targeting the 135 to 140 kph mark every delivery,there were a lot of 120s slipped in.

Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha slowly started getting into the mix as the Lankan procession continued,except for a 60-run period when the two Jayawardenes again attempted to rebuild. But Sreesanth,with the ball starting to reverse-swing,first got Prasanna to edge to Dhoni,and then dismissed Rangana Herath with the ball of the day — angling in,squaring the batsman,and moving just enough to knock back off-stump.

The debate over enforcing the follow-on has shifted slightly in recent years,with captains the world over more often deciding against it,either to give their bowlers a rest or get the team to a position of absolute safety. But asking the Lankans to bat again was a no-brainer,and the logic behind the call was evident when the spinners started to kick up some dust.

Harbhajan and Virender Sehwag have already picked up a wicket apiece. With Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews at the crease,and Prasanna Jayawardene the only specialist batsman to follow,a fourth-day lunch ending is not entirely unthinkable.

Never thought I’d play for India again,says Sreesanth

Kanpur: Comeback-man Sreesanth showed his softer side on Thursday,saying he was enjoying his cricket more than ever and insisting that he hadn’t made any conscious efforts to mellow down.

“I never thought I’d play for India again. I’m happy to be back in Kanpur,where I had played my last match. All I can say is that this is really the beginning.” Asked about his more controlled celebrations on Thursday,he said: “I did celebrate with my team mates. There is no need to show the world. It’s not a conscious effort… I am perhaps the most misunderstood cricketer in the world.”

He rated his bowling in Kanpur as even better than the five for 40 against South Africa at Wanderers in 2006. “That was history. This is the present,and the conditions are much tougher.” — ENS