Indians torpedoed on minefield pitch

Sri Lanka snatch sensational win as Herath comes in from the cold:

by Ranjan Anandappa in Galle

Rangana Herath and Tharindu Kaushal bowled Sri Lanka to an improbable 63 run win on the fourth day of the first cricket Test against India at the Galle International Stadium yesterday.

Sri Lanka who were down in the dumps on the third day afternoon rose like a phoenix from the ashes to turn the tide while defending a meagre target of 175 runs.

Herath and Kaushal bowled admirably well as the former sent the Indian top order reeling back as he trapped nightwatchman Ishant Sharma and also accounted for the other Sharma (Rohit) and suddenly things began to go wrong for India.

Kaushal had Virat Kohli caught by Kaushal Silva at forward short-leg and then took a sprawling catch off his own bowling to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan as the game furiously swung further towards Sri Lanka.

Dhawan never tried to accelerate the score and at one stage took fifty two minutes to make a run. In all he took 119 minutes facing 83 deliveries for his 28 which put the Sri Lankan bowlers on top and made the rest of the Indian batsmen struggle for runs.

In chasing the victory target of 176 runs the Indian batting never looked convincing from the start as the spin duo proved themselves unplayable on a wicket that increasingly took spin.

Herath who had a barren run in his last two Tests (against Pakistan) and went wicket-less in the first innings took 7 for 48 to re-establish his place in the side while off spinner Kaushal too bowled exceptionally well to have figures of 3 for 47 in his 17.5 over spell.

India started shakily and continued to do so as they were inordinately defensive while the Sri Lanka bowlers never gave anything away.

Herath in particular who was struggling for wickets showed that he has not lost his guile and kept on delivering vital blows. The win should silence Sri Lankan detractors and take the host to the second Test with a load of confidence.

Soon after the match Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews said that the wicket was not an easy one to bat on and they came into the second innings realising that the home side had nothing to lose.

“In the first innings we did not bat well, we were not positive enough, we just kept losing wickets. When it came to the second innings we thought that we had nothing to lose. We had a 192 deficit and we decided to surpass it and get a good lead, so we decided to go out and be positive, take those risks”, said Mathews.

“The batsmen batted brilliantly and Chandimal was outstanding. He took his chances as he kept sweeping and reverse-sweeping and got us to a good position where we could give our bowlers a chance. It was a difficult wicket to bat on to be honest and the way Rangana Herath and Tharindu Kaushal bowled was absolutely brilliant.

“Overall more than their (India) weaknesses our bowlers made things happen as we bowled to a good line and length and put a lot of pressure on their batsmen. We couldn’t do too many things on that wicket. We just had to bowl to a good length, especially the spinners.The wicket was turning quite a lot.

“Even the Indian spinners bowled very well. Ashwin bowled brilliantly. Virat Kohli and Shkhar Dhawan batted exceptionally well in the first innings. We had a plan for each and every Indian batsman. More than anything we decided to bowl to a good line and length.

Mathews further said that Sri Lanka were down and out in the first three and a half days but after Chandimal’s innings it gave them some sort of life to come back into the game as they batted really poorly in the first innings and did not give the bowlers a chance to bowl well.

“In the second innings I thought that Nuwan Pradeep’s spell was really good and Herath and Kaushal bowled exceptionally well. I thought it was a great team effort as we were down and out and no one would have given us a chance to win this game and it was a great team effort”, said an elated Mathews.

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka 1st innings: 183 
India 1st innings: 375 
Sri Lanka 2nd innings: 367 
(D. Chandimal 162 not out,)

India 2nd innings 
L. Rahul lbw b Herath			05
S. Dhawan c and b Kaushal		28                     
I. Sharma lbw b Herath			10
R. Sharma b Herath			04
V. Kohli c Silva b Kaushal		03
A. Rahane c Mathews b Herath		36
W. Saha st Chandimal b Herath		02
H. Singh c Silva b Herath		01
R. Ashwin c Prasad b Herath		03
A. Mishra c Karunaratne b Kaushal	15
V. Aaron not out			01
Extras: (lb2, w1, nb1)			04
Total (all out, 49.5 overs)	       112  

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-30, 3-34, 4-45, 5-60
		 6-65, 7-67, 8-81, 9-102.  
Bowling: Prasad 4-2-4-0 (nb1)
	 Herath 21-6-48-7
	 Kaushal 17.5-1-47-3
	 Pradeep 6-3-8-0
	 Mathews 1-0-3-0 (w1)