Team India clear Level 1 test

Since Virender Sehwag wasn’t on the field most of the day, he walked to the boundary in his training gear to receive his...

Since Virender Sehwag wasn’t on the field most of the day, he walked to the boundary in his training gear to receive his triumphant team mates armed with stump mementoes. After getting repeated bear hugs from them, Sehwag seemed like an athlete at the finish line who was responsible for giving his team the winning lead by running more than his share of laps in a relay race.

And in the bigger context of the series, Sehwag’s sprint marathon means India, who seemed miles away from Sri Lanka after the first Test, now have the pace and rhythm as they brush shoulders with their subdued rivals. With India winning the Galle Test by 170 runs in just four days and squaring the three-match series, the two teams will now head to Colombo for the decider. And with the SAARC leaders dispersed, the Lankan capital can now feast on a summit clash featuring several cricketing greats.

The fact that the result happens to be three-figure run difference and the Test getting over with a day to spare might hint at a lop-sided contest, but that’s far from reality. Several times in the game the Lankans had an upper hand, but the Indians were never really pinned down. The final day’s play gave ample evidence of the Indians making a habit of breaking the shackles and taking setbacks in their stride. After losing six wickets in a little more than an hour this morning, the Indians bounced back and skittled out the hosts with more than 60 minutes of play left in the day.

Chasing 307 in the fourth innings is unheard of in these parts of the world, still it’s quite creditable that India finished the platter quickly, rather than playing with their food. Another surprising thing was the pacers being among wickets. Inspired opening spells by pacers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan broke the Sri Lankan resolve.

Ever since India landed in Galle, skipper Anil Kumble had been insisting that he wasn’t leading a bunch that would be shell-shocked by a defeat. It wasn’t false bravado but he was speaking from past experience. On Sunday, he wore a told-ya expression on his face as he spoke about the experience and quality in the dressing room.

Mendis menace, not a worry

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, too, could feel the aggression of his rivals after they were cornered. Though Ajantha Mendis, who finished with a 10-wicket haul in this match, still remains a mystery, India’s positive approach saw them through. As was the case in the first Test, they failed to read Mendis at times but that didn’t stop them from stepping out of the crease whenever they got an opportunity. Rahul Dravid and Dinesh Karthik still have an Achilles heel but they didn’t quite show two left feet when dancing down the track.

Harbhajan Singh proved that the conventional was still in vogue as his regular variations of off-spin gave him a haul that matched the one by the gradually-getting-familiar unconventional bowler Mendis. An arm-ball from around the wicket got rid of Vandort, a regular off-spinner saw Prasanna Jayawardene top-edging a sweep, a full-pitched yorker length delivery had Vaas lbw while Mendis was beaten in flight. Refreshingly, understanding cricket was easier with no middle-finger action or freak wrists that revolve 360 degrees.

But all’s not well

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Though the Indian dressing room had Bollywood songs playing at full volume, there were a few sights that made one understand that despite the highs, the lows from this game haven’t been conveniently swept under the carpet. While most celebrated the win, coach Gary Kirsten and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik were involved in a long discussion. Karthik’s forgettable outing behind the stumps continued as he dropped Dilshan Tillakratne off Harbhajan. Long after the award ceremony, the two sat secluded from the group. India, it seems, are aware they can’t expect Sehwag to double his work load everyday.