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Day 2: Bhajji spins web around Sri Lanka
Follow-on loomed over the Lankans as they were 131/5 at stumps. Scorecard
Cricket is a funny game because it often embraces the unforeseen and Sri Lanka were left hoping for just that when play ended almost an hour behind schedule due to another late start caused by dew on Day 2 of the third and final Test on Monday.
The prospect of being asked to follow on is there and if they are to avoid it, the last recognised pair of batsmen must contribute enough to not only ensure that their team gets those 68 runs, but a few more. Otherwise, they run the risk of chasing the improbable in the fourth innings on what is likely to become a tough track progressively.
Predicting pitch behaviour can be an imprudent exercise and irrespective of that, the visitors must come up with the kind of resurgence the final Test has seen during the Indian innings -- anchored and initiated by VVS Laxman.
He was doing something which has cost him some runs and maybe centuries -- Laxman has nine and Justin Langer 22 -- batting without the players in the team to bat despite moving up from No. 6. Like Ajay Ratra in the Caribbean in 2002, Laxman first found a wicket-keeper for company and then a bowler shy to call himself an all-rounder but is batting like a batsman.
Irfan Pathan not just defended, left the ball, pulled and drove it well, he also showed the kind of application which makes the difference between teams in crunch matches. His 221-minute stay in the middle with Muttiah Muralitharan smelling blood and the seventh-wicket stand of 125 with Laxman may remain the defining moment of this match.
Correct assessment of the situation was the hallmark of Laxman's second century of the season after one in Zimbabwe, not the flicks and on-drives against leg-spinners. First he avoided driving through the off-side against the spin unless in perfect position and then continued in a sedate manner, which probably helped MS Dhoni and Pathan play their natural game.
This century with 14 fours, many of which showed glimpses of the class few possess, will not feature among the most sparkling ones Laxman has scored. In terms of shouldering of responsibility as a senior batsman with the team at 97 for five and battling unwanted controversies, this is not too far behind his most important ones nonetheless.
The contributions coming from the lower half are as significant because, added to Laxman's 104, they took the team to a total which is looking too big for Sri Lanka and may remain one. Anil Kumble celebrated his 100th Test with the only six of the match so far, off Murali for the icing on the cake, and Ajit Agarkar had a better time with the bat than ball.
It was left to the lone Indian tail-ender who didn't score much to make his presence felt after that. Harbhajan Singh has this habit of bringing the spotlight back on him soon after Kumble glows under it.
It was the zip with turn and bounce the off-spinner found that pulled the carpet from under the Sri Lankan feet after they had recovered from the early loss of Upul Tharanga. The debutant had no clue to some exquisite swing bowling by Pathan in a three-over spell which the bowler failed to reproduce after tea.
But the visitors were in the game with Marvan Atapattu trying to keep the pressure away by playing some shots in the company of Kumar Sangakkara who was playing with composure. The skipper's failure to control a sweep from outside off sparked the collapse and it was 105 for five from 74 for one in a space of 30 deliveries bowled by Harbhajan from the end given to Murali earlier.
Cricket is a funny game, but the Sri Lankans are far from the funny side of it at the moment. With a thing or two to be interested in the pitch, Kumble too will expect that the edges he got on Monday won't elude the fielders on Day 3 and it's up to Tom Moody's men to ensure the game sees a fifth.
