Uthappa puts South in command

Lanka A may have to pay dearly for their 8216;negative tactics8217;

On the eve of Sri Lanka A8217;s Duleep Trophy clash with South Zone, a relaxed Lankan skipper had said that there was absolutely nopressure on them since they were here as guests. But as things stand after the third day8217;s play at Eden Gardens, the islanders appear to be headed for a really rough ride.

After the Lankans managed to restrict VVS Laxman 038; Co to a 272-run lead at close of play on Day 3, match referee Sanjay Patil wasn8217;t in a mood to let the visitors off lightly for what he calls 8220;deliberate, negative cricket to slow down the day8217;s play,8221; resulting in a slow over-rate of 12.2 today. South Zone ended the day at 333/4.

The dull day8217;s cricket 8212; lit up by Robin Uthappa8217;s dogged 141, Dinesh Kaarthick8217;s chancy 95 and skipper Laxman8217;s elegant 45-run cameo 8212; could be attributed to Lankan captain Samaraweera8217;s tactics of slowing down the scoring. Terming the day8217;s proceedings as 8220;deliberate tactics8221; to slow things down 8212; only 73 overs could be bowled today 8212; the match referee is mulling over docking Sri Lanka A team 30 per cent of the match fee, with skipper Samaraweera facing a 40 per cent match-fee fine.

8220;These fines are tentative, and may come into effect only if South Zone declare first-up tomorrow morning,8221; Patil told The Indian Express after the day8217;s play. Venugopal Rao 19 was at the crease when bad light stopped play 15 minutes before close. Even as experienced leg-spinner Upul Chandana bottled one end up for most part of the day, bowling a painstaking leg-stump line with a pronounced leg-side fielding, South openers Kaarthick and Uthappa shared a hard-earned 167-run first-wicket stand.

The young stumper narrowly missed a century holing out to one of his many attempted ambitious slogs, but Uthappa chugged along to a watchful 141 off 190 balls, sharing another century partnership, this time with Laxman. Uthappa showed his mettle, digging in and refusing to play into the hands of the withdrawn Lankan bowlers.

Laxman, on the other hand, came up with a typical, scorching knock that was nipped in the bud after the stylish Hydarabadi threw his wicket away to a mindless lob to midwicket off Ganegama. His 45 off 73 balls wasn8217;t an inspiring figure on paper, but Laxman looked in wonderful nick.

Brief score: South Zone 266 038; 333/4 in 78 overs Robin Uthappa 141, Dinesh Kaarthick 95, VVS Laxman 45; Akalanka Ganegama 4/82 vs Sri Lanka A 327.