It was more a solid than a crushing victory but 8 wickets is decisive in anyone’s scorebook. More importantly it was a series win. Sri Lanka won the third Test and the series 2 – 1.
How important was this win? What does the future hold for these two sub-continental teams? Will there be major changes in either squad? Who did well in this series and who did not?
India would be happier with their bowlers than their batsmen. Their quicks did well and their spinners were excellent. Kumble is an underrated bowler in the sense that he has an outstanding record, captains the side and still takes wickets on a regular basis. But Harbhajan is the limelight king. On and off the field he attracts attention and Kumble, a gentleman of the game, is somehow less noticeable.
The Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has missed large chunks of international cricket because of injury especially in the hamstring department. One can only hope that rising star Ishant Sharma has suffered only a minor setback and that his current misfortune is not a portent of things to come. India needs his firepower.
India’s batting was a mixed bag. It seems hard to believe that Sehwag has not been a permanent fixture in the Indian Test side. In this series he has been consistently brilliant and brilliantly consistent. He can turn a match and his second Test double-century enabled India to level the series. Gambhir was less spectacular but made a more than useful contribution. The other India batsmen would not be pleased with their series. In fact Sehwag was the only India batsman to pass a hundred. Not good enough. What will the selectors decide to do? Dravid and Tendulkar will have few fond memories of these Tests.
But it was the third aspect of cricket, fielding, where India took a hammering. Why did Dhoni stay at home? And while India fumbled and dropped catches, Sri Lanka seemed to turn half-chances into remarkable wickets. With India’s coach given leave to return home for personal reasons, maybe the pressure to field well was not applied by others. This must improve.
Sri Lanka were deserved winners. If a team bats first on a placid pitch and fails to make 250, you invite the opposition to win the match. Sri Lanka accepted India’s invitation. And unlike India, the locals had consistent batsmen. Sangakkara, Dilshan, Jaywardene D and Samaraweera were centurions. India had one – Sehwag.
The spinners dominated the series with Murali adding to his amazing tally with another 21. But the talking point must be Mendis. It’s not that he took so many wickets but rather who he dismissed and how. Mendis dismissed Laxman and Dravid an amazing nine times in the series. The Sri Lankan quicks were not an overwhelming success. In fact Vaas had a very poor series. But if Murali can play on, then on turning wickets, he and Mendis are arguably the best spin combination in the world.
The five ODIs begin next week with maybe a few careers on the line.
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