India and Sri Lanka will face each other in a Test series in Lanka for the first time since 2010. A lot has changed since the last time these two sides met in that Test series. The Indian team has undergone a complete overhaul, with Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and Murali Vijay being the only surviving members from that tour. The greats like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman have all retired since while Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh have run out of favour with the Indian selectors. Sri Lanka too are without Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera and Muttiah Muralitharan, while Kumar Sangakkara will be playing in his farewell series.
The current series will kick off with the first Test at Galle on Wednesday. The last time the sides met in a Test at Galle was during the 2010 series. Here’s a recap of that match.
Toss: Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat.
Debutant: Fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun made his debut for India in the match
Sri Lanka, as they have often done at home, put up a massive score on the board, batting first. Opener Tharanga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara both smashed hundreds in the innings. The former made 111 before being dismissed while the latter contributed 103. Jayawardene and Mathews, down the order, contributed 40s. But, the biggest surprise, and embarrassment for India, came in the form of fifties from tailenders Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga. While Herath made an unbeaten 80, Malinga made 64. Mithun picked up 4 for 105 on his debut. Ishant claimed three wickets but went for 145 runs. Harbhajan and Pragyan Ojha went wicketless as Lanka declared on 520 for 8.
In response, India were bamboozled by the spin of Murali, who went into his final Test needing eight wickets to finish on exactly 800 Test scalps. He got five in India’s first innings as India crumbled to 276 all-out. Murali’s dismissals included the big ones of Tendulkar, Yuvraj and Dhoni as India faltered. He finished with excellent figures of 5 for 63. Malinga chipped in with the big wickets of Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman. For India, Sehwag stood out with his 109.
With a massive lead, Lanka made India follow-on. Malinga ran through the Indian batting with a splendid bowling effort. He got Gambhir in the first over, and the added the well-set Dravid (44) and Tendulkar (84). Further, Malinga also cleaned up Dhoni for 4. India were always going to struggle in spite of fifties from Tendulkar and Laxman (69). What remained to be seen was whether Murali could scale the 800 mark. And, it was a perfect end for Murali. He dismissed Yuvraj and Harbhajan to reach 799 wickets. And, with only one Indian wicket left, he had Ojha caught by none other than Jayawardene. Lanka needed only 95 to win, and eased to a triumph with Dilshan blasting an unbeaten 68 in 47 balls.
-- By A Cricket Analyst
