A Sandcastle In The Tide

As Arun Lal mentioned at the pitch report, they had 'worked very hard to try and make some runs on' the wicket and he admitted that the Hambantota wicket had 'not been famous for high scoring games.' He added that it used to have more moisture but the wicket that was made for yesterday's Sri Lanka VS India 1^st ODI was 'very dry; very hard; almost devoid of grass.'

Indians hold a reputation for winning the matches by their technically unusual, vulgar style of attacking batting. They haven't had great luxuries batting on seam-friendly, green wickets because of their batting style and technics. Their bowlers are not very consistent either and their fielding is hilariously humiliating, as they proved last night too, and is arguably the worst in the world.

While on the flip-side of the coin, Sri Lanka have got a pack of technically sound batsmen, who are not too aggressive either, and a very consistent and talented seam bowling department. Nuwan Kulasekara, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera are known for the consistency in their immaculate line and length and the capability to nip around the ball of the seam while Lasith Malinga holds the reputation for the consistency in his pace of a bullet and the accuracy of a champion archer on his toe-crushers and bumpers.

So, the pitch curator had laid on a grave lot of hard work underneath that disloyal wicket.

The toss is uncontrollable and the Indian captain MS Dhoni won it and elected to bat first though, their opening pair showed some discomfort against the new ball. Gambhir was bowled round his legs by Kulasekara and Sehwag was given a life when he was dropped on 0 by Dilshan, who is known to be one of the best fielders in the world cricket in the modern day. It seemed like if the ball took more time than he expected as of the resistance of the heavy wind. However, Sehwag was later caught on 24 by Kulasekara with a spectacular dive at mid-off of Perera though Sehwag refused to leave his ground, suggesting the umpires to go upstairs, showing his mother-nature. The TV umpire surprisingly gave him not out, making an immense controversy. Kulasekara took a groin injury with that dive and left the field and didn't come come back to bowl either. Sehwag was eventually run out for 96 and Virat Kohli, after being dropped a half chance during his twenties by Perera of his own bowling, went on to make his 12^th ODI hundred. At last, India put up a total of 314/6 at the end of the first half of the game.

In the reply innings, Tillakaratne Dilshan started with confidence and slashed an off-side delivery with disdain before being dropped a belly-button-high catch by Sehwag at first slip, hilariously. However, he was then given out, LBW, for 6 at a delivery that would have gone over the stumps by miles, of Irfan Pathan. Upul Tharanga played some smooth, eye-pleasing, ear-treating drives through the off-side before getting caught at first slip for 28, by Sehwag, which was tossed up by the mess Dhoni had made. Chandimal walked off like a gentleman, without waiting for the umpire's decission, after nicking one behind. Sangakkara showed the spirit of the game by refusing to take the extra runs that would have been 'over-throughs', which hit his bat unintentionally though, when he was running between the wickets. He made a brilliant knock of 133, making it his 14^th ODI hundred and Thisara Perera's 44 runs of just 28 balls and Lasith Malinga's fireworks in the final over took Sri Lanka to a marginal 21-run defeat.

- Sachintha Saputhanthri -